‘You can’t borrow your way out of being 70’: CA Nitin Kaushik shares a warning for parents funding education abroad

Education is among the biggest financial commitments families make for their children. For many parents, sending a child abroad for higher studies is a dream worth making major sacrifices for. But funding that dream can also affect long-term financial security if retirement savings are overlooked. CA Nitin Kaushik recently highlighted this dilemma on X, pointing to the potential impact of overseas education costs on an Indian parent’s retirement corpus and raising another often-ignored issue: estate planning.

CA Nitin Kaushik’s warning to parents

CA Nitin Kaushik took to X to discuss the financial sacrifices parents may make to fund their children’s education abroad. He said parents may sell assets, take loans or even delay retirement to pay for overseas education. However, he urged families to pause and consider one important number before making such decisions.

According to Kaushik, a survey found that overseas education could consume up to 64% of an Indian parent’s required retirement corpus. It does show that the cost of a four-year international university degree in India was equivalent to 64% of the retirement savings respondents said they required. The report was based on affluent respondents in 11 markets.


For Kaushik, the figure represents a significant trade-off between funding a child’s education and protecting a parent’s financial future.

‘Retirement has no loan’

The CA pointed out what he described as an uncomfortable reality: parents can be so focused on securing their children’s future that they may overlook their own retirement. His central message was that education can be financed through borrowing, but retirement cannot be approached in the same way. Kaushik warned that a parent may be able to take a loan to fund a child’s education, but there is no equivalent loan that can replace a retirement corpus later in life.

His concern centres on what happens when parents reach their 60s or 70s after spending a substantial portion of their savings on education. Without sufficient retirement savings, they could potentially become financially dependent on the very children they spent years supporting.

The 64% retirement corpus calculation

The survey examined the financial planning habits and expectations of more than 11,000 affluent individuals across 11 markets. It also found that international education and retirement were among the major financial goals families were attempting to balance. It separately notes that mapping future expenses, identifying funding gaps and regularly reviewing a financial plan can help people balance goals such as sending children abroad and preparing for retirement.

The 64% figure is therefore a survey-based comparison rather than a universal calculation for every Indian family. Actual education costs and retirement requirements can vary substantially depending on the destination, university, duration, lifestyle and an individual family’s financial circumstances.

Another issue parents may overlook: wills

Kaushik also raised another financial planning issue that often receives less attention: what happens to a family’s assets after the parents are gone. He cited a figure suggesting that around 85% of Indians reportedly do not have a will. His broader point was that families could spend years directing their wealth towards the next generation while never formally deciding how their remaining assets should eventually be distributed.

This concern also connects with the wider issue of legacy planning.

‘Fund their future without completely sacrificing yours’

Kaushik did not argue that parents should stop supporting their children’s education. Instead, his message was about maintaining a balance between helping children and protecting one’s own financial independence. He stressed that a child’s education matters, but parents also need to ensure they do not end up financially dependent on that same child later in life.

His final message was to fund the next generation’s future without completely sacrificing your own. The underlying financial planning question is therefore not simply how much parents can spend on an overseas degree, but how that decision fits alongside retirement savings, existing assets, loans, insurance and long-term financial needs.