Building a \u20b9100 crore retirement fund is a \u201cpsychological trap\u201d, according to a Chartered Accountant, who in a series of posts on social media platform X, broke down why having a more realistic goal of \u20b92-3 crore as retirement savings is more important than \u201ccomparing your life with someone else’s\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a lengthy post series on X (formerly known as Twitter), CA Nitin Kaushik called the \u201c100 crore retirement<\/a>\u201d target a \u201cmath scam\u201d, adding that it is \u201cnot just bad advice\u201d, but a \u201cpsychological trap that makes the middle class feel poor while influencers get rich on your views\u201d.<\/p>\n Influencers \u2018selling a dream mathematically impossible for 99%\u2019<\/p>\n Kaushik noted that the case for \u20b9100 crore retirement fund<\/a> does not work out for majority Indians, even those earning in Tier 1 and 2 cities. Why? To build \u20b9100 crore savings over 30 years, you will need to invest \u20b92.8 lakh annually in tools that earn at least 12% returns.<\/p>\n Also Read<\/strong> | Income-tax returns: Here are top 10 common mistakes to avoid while filing ITR<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey (influencers) are selling a dream that is mathematically impossible for 99% of their followers. Social media is a bubble, not the census. The top 1% in India holds 40% of the total wealth<\/a>, while the bottom 50% shares just 15%. For most Indians, \u20b91 Crore isn\u2019t small it is a life changing, generational milestone,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n He added that in India, a large chunk of the middle-class spends 15-20 years paying off their home loans<\/a>, which makes your home your biggest asset and biggest debt. \u201c\u2026Expecting a person to build a 9-figure equity portfolio at the same time is a fantasy designed to sell courses. This wealth porn is actually making people poorer,\u201d he criticised.<\/p>\n Kaushik noted that many investors are disengaging with SIPs<\/a> over the recent months as impossible goals (for \u20b950 crore from investment) is resulting in frustration. \u201cThey (ordinary investors) feel like failures, they give up, and they stop investing entirely. Stop taking advice from people who make more money from Financial Planning Workshops than from their own investments,\u201d he cautioned.<\/p>\n Also Read<\/strong> | ITR: Here’s a checklist of required documents for smooth filing of returns<\/a>Retirement corpus of \u20b92-3 crore \u2018strong, practical number\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cFor a large part of the Indian middle class, a retirement corpus<\/a> of around \u20b92 to 3 crore is actually a strong and practical number,\u201d Kaushik feels, adding that people are being told to aim for \u201cnumbers that have no connection with their life\u201d.<\/p>\n He believes that managing your spending, keeping expenses in control and building your corpus gradually will allow for a more \u201creasonable goal\u201d of \u20b93 crore as retirement savings.<\/p>\n When you are retired, Kaushik suggests using SWP<\/a>. This is a feature for mutual fund investors, which you to withdraw fixed amounts at regular intervals, while still keeping the remaining corpus invested.<\/p>\n Also Read<\/strong> | 8th pay commission: Memorandum submission date extended to 31 May \u2014 Top updates<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen you withdraw around \u20b91 lakh per month from a \u20b93 crore corpus, the remaining amount still stays invested and continues to compound over time (assuming 12% returns). This is how your money <\/a>doesn\u2019t just deplete, it sustains you,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n How to build risk-ready retirement corpus?<\/p>\n In another post, Kaushik suggested building your corpus at \u201c300x monthly expenses\u201d in 2026. For anyone earning \u20b91 lakh per month in 2026, to sustain a similar lifestyle at retirement would demand \u20b93.5 crore corpus.<\/p>\n