Retirement planning is much more than creating retirement corpus

  1. How are you planning to spend your 10am-5pm time which otherwise, you were spending in office/ workplace?
  2. Do you have a hobby which can be converted to a business idea and ensure some cash flow/ make you active post retirement?
  3. Do you have trusted friends whom you can fall back on always and can spend time together?

My client retired last year from a PSU. He is eligible for inflation adjusted pension. This is more than enough to take care of his monthly expenses. But he is not happy after retirement. He is not feeling that he crossed 60, because he is very active and is bubbling with energy. But in the last 35 years of his service with an oil marketing firm, he was living within the organisation, rising in ranks to the position of executive director at the time of retirement. All his contacts are within the organisation, and he was isolated from the outside world. Once he is out of the job and the office quarters, he does not know how to spend his time to make him active.

My uncle is in a dilemma. He is aged 75 and is running a small shop next to his house. Daughter is married and settled nearby. Son is in Canada. Uncle can stay with his daughter, or they will take care of him. But he and his wife are concerned about how they will spend time without doing anything. Even at 75, he is not ready to retire.

Another client knows that he needs 3.6 Crores for his retired life. He is already having 5 Crores at 58; yet, he is worried as he is nearing his retirement.

Nikhil retired from his IT job last year. He is having lot of time but does not know how to spend it. Someone introduced him to day trading. He has already lost 20 Lakhs in his portfolio and is in an unbelievably bad mood now.

Dr. Senthil is an NRI doctor in Dubai aged 59 and is planning to return to India next year after retirement. Though he is having more than enough liquid assets to take care of his retirement, he is worried about the income tax issues in India.

My neighbour is retiring next year. He is very much worried about what he will do when the monthly salary stops. Though he knows that he is having enough money, he is confused how to ensure regular income flow after retirement.

My cousin retired from a bank 5 years ago. After retirement, he is associated with the local church where he is a trustee. Everyday morning, he will be in the church at 7 am. He returns home for breakfast and lunch but will be active in the church till 7pm. He is happy with this active life.

If your monthly expenses are 50,000, you need 1.8 Crores at 60 to live till age 90. Assuming that there is no further liability towards children, you need not worry about finances if you have 1.8 Crores with you. It will ensure inflation adjusted monthly withdrawal of 50,000 per month for the next 30 years. I have assumed 6% inflation and 6% return from the retirement corpus of 1.8 Crores.

Yet, I see many retired people who are worried. So, there is something more to retirement than just financial adequacy.

Let me explain 5 ways to have an active and satisfying retired life.  You can add more to it.

Try to find out a stream of work which you can continue till you are active. Identify activities that appeal to you from age 40 – 45 and nurture them.

 Suman started practicing Yoga from age 40. From age 50, he started Yoga training sessions for his friends and colleagues, and now at 58, he is a Yoga Guru teaching more than 400 students online and offline. He is now earning more than his last drawn salary and is physically active.

Satish was working with ISRO as an engineer. At age 45, he found an opportunity to coach BTech students trying to get admission for MS course abroad. He started it in a small scale and gradually scaled up through online mode. He is now earning much more than his government job and is highly active after retirement.

Ajit started private tuition for school students in the evenings, along with his wife from age 45. Now both are managing it even after retirement. They are regularly active, and it is very remunerative also.

Renu started online sale of several types of Tea Dust along with her Software job. She is now planning to scale it up after retirement.

Keeping yourself physically and mentally active is important after retirement.  Try to identify an area that appeals to your taste and try to create a business out of it in small scale. Think of something from your hobbies, passion or likes, which you enjoy doing. This will ensure that you are active and generate income even after retirement. There are many part time assignments which you can try during your working life and then scale up after retirement. Avoid capital intensive business and business with long gestation period. It is better to do it solo instead of doing with partners. Anything which can be scaled up online is better in the long term.

Try to create friends in the age group -10 and +10.

Rajesh is always happy with his friends whether he is in office or at home. He developed a friend circle both in his office and near to his house. Good friends always surround him.

This is extremely important for a happy retired life. We need friends to share our concerns/ ideas at all ages especially after retirement. Once we stop going to office daily, we need someone to spend time, share the concerns. Getting good and trustworthy friends is not easy. You cannot create friends overnight. Like Rajesh, you must plan it earlier. It is better to have friends in your age group, some of them senior to you and some junior to you in age. If you are aged forty, try to have friends in the age group 30-50. You can learn many things from both seniors and juniors.

Try to associate with any organisation as per your taste

Raghu is active with the local Kerala Samajam in Mumbai after his office hours and weekends. He is associated with it actively. I am sure, he will be fully occupied with it after retirement.

Man is a social animal. He needs socialization. Associating with any organisation, where you can contribute even in a limited way, can keep you active. This helps you in getting likeminded friends which is difficult otherwise. You can select local associations as per your taste. There are many choices like Yoga Club, Laughter Club, Science Club other than the big names like Rotary etc.

Find a way for giving back to society

Krishnan is aged seventy-five now, He is my client and is a sponsor of two needy kids in my program โ€“ Kidโ€™s Education and You (KEY). He is supporting education of two kids who are in the first standard now. More than his monthly support of 2000/- to both these kids, he finds time to talk to those two kids and their parents regularly to see their progress.  He told me that he is keen on seeing both these kids settle in their life. It will keep him active and optimistic for the next 12 years!

Once you are settled in life with your job and finances, try to develop the habit of giving back to society. Start in a small way and increase it gradually as your income increases. It can be in cash or through volunteering your time and efforts. Everybody can do it in one way or other. You need not be rich to do it. It is your standard of giving, which matters. When you do this, the satisfaction you get is amazing and it can really help you in finding your real purpose in life. While looking back during retired life, you will enjoy your efforts and results.

Develop healthy habits, routines to take care of yourself โ€“ Nutrition/ Yoga/ meditation/ Exercise

My friend Suresh developed some blood pressure issues at age 30. Doctor advised him to go for 30 minutes brisk walk in the morning. He is continuing it for the last 25 years.

Developing good habits at an early age is good for your physical and mental health. Walking daily for 30-40 minutes, practicing Yoga and meditation for 10 minutes etc can really help. At least from age 45, develop a healthy eating pattern. It is worth consulting a dietitian in most cases to reduce the intake of carbohydrates and adjust the food pattern which suits you.

Retired life can be golden years in your life if you plan for it carefully. Do not miss to enjoy the sunset years in your life.

23 thoughts on “Retirement planning is much more than creating retirement corpus”

  1. Its very informative article.I myself associated with Vipassana and Marathon Running Group. My day starts before 5 AM and end at @ 1000 pm. Thanks

  2. Great an Article and not a single line or word too be missed. Practical with real life examples the entire content is worth reading again and again until you live by what has been said.
    Thanks a lot Sir for this all in one retirement induction.

  3. Raghavendra Kalmadi

    There is more to retirement life than financial adequacy. Thanks for sharing great insights on how to go about planning our retirement life.

  4. It is great article it is true. Thank you sir sharing such great stories . We can make perfect plan by studying such articles

    1. Innovative ideas !!!
      developing healthy , newer habits and practising these skills throughout the life and a perfect way to give back to society and enjoying sunset ๐ŸŒ… yearโ€™s of life.
      Thank you very much Sir.

    2. Innovative ideas !!!
      developing healthy , newer habits and practising these skills throughout the life and a perfect way to give back to society.
      Thank you very much Sir.

  5. Excellent article without excesses. Illustration of 1.8 cr as corpus with 6 % inflation and 6 % return which takes care of 30 year inflated adjusted expenses is really worth considering.

  6. Dear Melvin
    Hope you are well.
    I would like to know what would be the total figure I must have for next 30 years if my monthly expense is 2 lakh at age 60.This must be after 6% inflation and 6% return on my investment. Tax must also be taken into consideration.
    Thanks and await your response
    Best regards
    Dinshaw

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