Retire With ₹0 Pension? Your Savings Must Last 25 Years

Most salaried Indians have no guaranteed pension after retirement. Without a proper plan, your savings could run dry mid-retirement. Here's how to calculate if your money will actually last — and what to do if it won't.

Here's what happened: India has no universal pension safety net — only government employees get guaranteed pensions; private sector workers rely entirely on EPF and personal savings.. A typical Indian retiring at 60 today may live 25–30 more years, meaning retirement can last as long as their entire working career.. Inflation at 6% per year means ₹50,000/month today will feel like ₹28,000 in purchasing power just 10 years from now — a silent wealth killer..

What you should do: Calculate your retirement corpus target: multiply your expected monthly expenses by 300 (the 25x annual rule adjusted for Indian inflation rates).. Check if your current SIP + EPF contributions are on track — use any free retirement calculator to model scenarios at 6%, 8%, and 10% returns.. Increase your SIP by at least ₹500–₹1,000 every year with each salary hike — this 'step-up SIP' strategy dramatically closes the retirement gap over time..

At 6% inflation, your retirement corpus should ideally be 30x your annual expenses — not the popular 25x rule — to avoid outliving your money in India.