Forget Rs 1-2 crore, startup founder says now you need Rs 40 crore retirement fund if you want to live in a city

How much do you really need to retire at 60? The question has long divided financial planners, but a recent podcast clip has reignited the debate with a headline-grabbing figure.

Sandeep Jethwani, co-founder of wealth management firm Dezerv, said in a viral episode of The Money Mindset podcast that an individual may need a retirement corpus of around Rs 40 crore by the age of 60. The estimate, he clarified, is meant for those currently spending Rs 1–2 lakh per month and does not include existing assets such as a house or car.

According to Jethwani, the Rs 40 crore figure is designed to cover all future living expenses over a typical retirement horizon. For a mid-sized urban family, he argued, this could be a reasonable benchmark—though he acknowledged the number may seem daunting, especially to those early in their careers.


Explaining the math, Jethwani noted that Rs 4.2 crore invested today and growing at an annual return of 12% could potentially become Rs 40 crore over 20 years. He added that someone retiring today at 60, with a life expectancy of around 90, moderate risk appetite, and annual expenses of about Rs 25 lakh (rising at 9–10% annually), would need a significantly large corpus to sustain their lifestyle.

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Podcast host Sonia Shenoy offered a more conservative estimate, suggesting that individuals spending Rs 1–2 lakh a month today may need closer to Rs 10 crore by retirement. However, she agreed that inflation, lifestyle upgrades, and unexpected healthcare costs can push requirements far higher than anticipated.

"The ₹40 crore number isn't a guess, it's arithmetic. Take a 40-year-old HNI spending ₹2 lakh a month today. At 9% inflation, which is the real rate for private healthcare, premium schooling, staff and travel, that becomes ₹11.2 lakh a month at 60, or ₹1.34 crore a year. Then plan for 30 years of retirement. People default to 75 or 80 because that's what national averages suggest, but those averages are dragged down by rural, lower-income, and infant mortality data. They have nothing to do with how long a healthy, urban, affluent Indian actually lives. Thirty years of ₹1.34 crore is ₹40 crore. The reassuring part: at 12% pre-retirement returns, ₹40 crore at 60 is just ₹4.2 crore in today's money. Nobody flinches at ₹4.2 crore as a retirement target. This isn't a scary-number story, it's an inflation and compounding story," Dezerv explained in a statement.

The viral clip has drawn sharp reactions online, with many questioning the practicality of such projections. One user pointed out that a large section of Indians may not even earn Rs 1 crore in their lifetime, calling for more inclusive financial advice. Others mocked the ever-rising retirement targets, with one comment reading, “Why does this number keep increasing with every reel?”

Another user highlighted the disparity, noting that a Rs 40 crore corpus would place someone among India’s wealthiest, far beyond the reach of most households. Some also dismissed the figure as unrealistic, comparing it to a “roulette” where the retirement number changes daily.

The debate ultimately underscores a key point: retirement planning is highly personal. While large figures like Rs 40 crore may apply to a specific income bracket and lifestyle, financial experts say the right number depends on individual expenses, goals, inflation expectations, and investment strategy.