Securing a regular monthly income that outpaces inflation is a dream for many individuals seeking a comfortable retirement. The amount of monthly income in your retirement phase might hinge on whether you maintain your current lifestyle or decide to make some upgrades. Regardless, inflation and market volatility can hit your retirement corpus and derail your retirement planning midway.
So, you need to design your retirement in a way that can help you beat inflation in the long-term and provide a regular income. So, how do you get this income for your retirement? Let’s go through three investment strategies that reveal how you can draw Rs 50,000 monthly inflation-adjusted income for 25 years.
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Corpus required to get Rs 50,000 inflation-adjusted monthly income for 25 years
Sachin Jain, managing partner, Scripbox, told ET Wealth Online that the corpus will depend on the retiree’s level of risk tolerance and investment returns they expect from their investments.
Retirement corpus required for different types of investors (as per Sachin Jain) Investor Type Expected Returns Real Return (after ~5% inflation) Expected Retirement Corpus Conservative Investor 4–5% Negative ₹1.5–1.7 crore Balanced Investor 7–8% 2–3% ₹1.1–1.3 crore Growth-oriented Investor 9–10% 4.5–5% ₹90 lakh – ₹1.1 crore
Vaibhav Shah, head, products, business strategy & international business, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India), told ET Wealth Online that for generating an inflation-adjusted income of Rs 50,000 per month for over a 25-year retirement period, the required corpus would depend significantly on the post-retirement rate of return.
Retirement corpus required for different types of investors (as per Vaibhav Shah)
Investor Type Expected Returns Assumed Inflation Approx. Real Return Required Retirement Corpus Conservative Investor ~6% 5% ~1% ₹1.3 crore+ Balanced Investor ~8% 5% ~3% ₹1 crore+ Growth-oriented Investor ~10% 5% ~5% ₹85 lakh
Rohan Goyal, investment research analyst, MIRA Money, suggests a corpus in the range of Rs 1.2 crore-Rs 1.9 crore is required for someone eyeing a Rs 50,000 monthly inflation-adjusted income for 25 years.
Retirement corpus required for different types of investors (as per Rohan Goyal)
Investor Type Estimated Retirement Corpus Conservative Investor ₹1.7–1.9 crore Balanced Investor ₹1.4–1.6 crore Growth-oriented Investor ₹1.2–1.4 crore
Withdrawal rate
Another important factor is what should be your withdrawal rate while seeking Rs 50,000 monthly income from your retirement corpus. A low rate might not ensure you a withdrawal of Rs 50,000/month. If you withdraw a high percentage (such as 7%-8% or higher) from your corpus in a year and the market falls for some months or year, there is a fear of corpus depletion before 25 years. So, what should be the ideal withdrawal rate?
According to Jain, a one-size-fits-all withdrawal strategy does not work and an ideal withdrawal rate can be 5% to 6% in a year.
Shah suggests one should start with a lower withdrawal rate and increase withdrawals in line with inflation each year.
Shah, however, says it is important to remain flexible during periods of market volatility or downturns, and that investors should consider moderating or temporarily pausing inflation adjustment to protect the longevity of the corpus.
Goyal claims the best withdrawal rate is around 3.5-4% of the initial corpus annually. However, for equity linked corpus, a market crash in the first 5 years is the biggest threat. So, Goyal suggests the retiree should maintain 3-5 yrs of expenses in liquid or short duration funds.
Investment strategy to beat inflation and fighting market volatilityInflation can go up slow or fast, but it keeps rising in the long term. Market volatility is highly unpredictable, and a market downturn phase can stretch from months to years. But you need a predictable income during your retirement phase. Which strategy should you follow that can help you draw Rs 50,000/month inflation-adjusted income for 25 years in a row.
Jain, Shah, and Goyal, all three, suggest bucket strategy to solve this problem. They say that an investor should invest amount for short, medium and long term in investments of different risks.
Bucket strategy as per Sachin Jain
Bucket Time Horizon Investment Type Purpose Bucket 1 0–5 years Low-risk instruments (e.g., short-term debt funds) Ensure income stability and liquidity for near-term expenses Bucket 2 5–10 years Hybrid / balanced funds Provide moderate growth and replenish Bucket 1 over time Bucket 3 10+ years Equity-oriented investments (e.g., diversified mutual funds) Generate long-term growth and hedge against inflation
Bucket strategy as per Rohan Goyal Bucket Time Horizon Investment Allocation Purpose / Usage Bucket 1 0–3 years Liquid funds / short-duration funds (≈ 3 years of expenses) Consumption bucket for monthly withdrawals; ensures liquidity and stability Bucket 2 3–5 years Hybrid funds (≈ next 3–5 years of expenses) Refills Bucket 1 as it depletes; provides moderate growth Bucket 3 5+ years Equity mutual funds (large, mid, small, flexi-cap mix) Long-term growth and inflation protection; used to replenish Bucket 2
Bucket strategy as per Vaibhav Shah Bucket Time Horizon Investment Type Key Objective Bucket 1 0–5 years Low-risk instruments (e.g., short-term debt funds) Ensure income stability and liquidity for near-term expenses Bucket 2 5–10 years Hybrid / balanced funds Provide moderate growth and replenish Bucket 1 over time Bucket 3 10+ years Equity-oriented investments (e.g., diversified mutual funds) Generate long-term growth and hedge against inflation
SWP vs FD vs annuity- which strategy should you pick?
Many retirees invest in mutual funds and start systematic withdrawal plan (SWP) to draw a monthly income. Others prefer the age-old way of investing in a low-risk fixed deposit scheme where they get a fixed income. Some retirees find an annuity plan an easy instrument to get a monthly income for years. While the purpose of all three investments is the same, which will be the most suitable for a person eyeing a Rs 50,000 monthly income for a long term.
Shah suggests investing in mutual funds and start SWP as it emerges as the most efficient and flexible option for most retirees.
“It allows for inflation-adjusted withdrawals, offers tax efficiency through capital gains taxation, and provides the benefit of continued market participation for growth,” says Shah.
Goyal too advises starting SWP, saying that in FD, the interest income is taxable as per slab rates, while the yield in annuity plans in India is low.
Jain, however, prescribe different approaches for investors with different risk profiles.
For conservative investors, Jain suggests FD, government securities and annuity are the best options since all three largely provide capital protection.
For investors with a balanced approach, Jain recommends investing in FD and SWP. Jain says SWP also allows an investor to participate in capital markets and provides greater flexibility than fixed income sources.
For growth-oriented investors, Jain suggests SWP as it “provides strong levels of financial discipline with respect to asset allocation.”
Investment mistakes to avoid when chasing Rs 50,000 monthly income in retirement
Shah says investor should not be too aggressive or too conservative, and they should avoid withdrawing too aggressively especially during volatile market phases.
“Retirees should also keep in mind the impact of taxation in their planning,” Shah suggests.
Goyal suggests ignoring healthcare as a separate bucket, putting everything in a single product and not reviewing the investment plan can derail your retirement planning’
Jain says some of the poor decision during the retirement phase may include seeking greater returns at the expense of stability, not considering liquidity and quality of assets, not factoring in how inflation will affect your purchasing power, not having a long-term view of your retirement planning and making decisions based on ‘wishful thinking’.