Sandeep Jethwani, co-founder of wealth management firm Dezerv, has offered a sobering take on how much a person needs to retire comfortably in an Indian metropolitan. Appearing on The Money Mindset podcast with journalist Sonia Shenoy, Jethwani said a person needs ₹40 crore to retire at 60 if their expenses range between ₹1 to 2 lakh per month.
The retirement question
The topic of retirement corpus came up when Sonia Shenoy presented her own example as a “live case study”.
“I am almost 40, and I have an expense of ₹2 lakh a month, give or take,” Shenoy said. “How much would I need to have in assets by the time I’m 60?”
“ ₹40 crore,” Sandeep Jethwani answered. “This is ex of the house you live in, ex of the car that you drive,” added the IIM Bangalore-educated entrepreneur.
Asked if it includes children’s education, Jethwani answered: “Everything. The full corpus. Whatever the amount to cover your future expenses, ₹40 crore in India for a mid-size family will be a reasonable amount.”
Shenoy pointed out that ₹40 crore is a big number, one that’s likely to raise eyebrows. She also noted how even reaching a net worth of ₹1 crore is difficult for many people. “It is very hard,” Jethwani agreed.
{{/usCountry}}Shenoy pointed out that ₹40 crore is a big number, one that’s likely to raise eyebrows. She also noted how even reaching a net worth of ₹1 crore is difficult for many people. “It is very hard,” Jethwani agreed.
{{/usCountry}}Sharing the video on Instagram, Shenoy said she expected the retirement corpus to be around ₹10 crore, not 40 crore.
“In my opinion, If you spend 1-2 lakh/month today, you need roughly 10 crore by age 60 but Sandeep Jethwani, my guest on the show tells me that inflation, lifestyle creep and unexpected health costs can inflate your retirement expenses much more than you think,” she said.
“‘The numbers feel overwhelming but the fact is if you are in the age group of 35- 40 and have expenses of 1-2 lakhs per month living in a metro in India today, you will need a corpus of 40 crores by the time you turn 60 years of age’ says my guest Sandeep Jethwani,” she added.
What the internet had to say
Social media users had a lot to say, with many surprised by the ₹40 crore figure.
“Really!! What is the life expectancy he is considering? Because in my understanding, by the time you are 60, you won’t need funds for your child’s education. You’ll live for next 20-25 years, that’s about INR 2 crore annual expenses (considering interest earnings),” wrote one person.
“The pedestal from which this podcast is done is higher than Burf Khalifa, for sure. Can't see the ground beneath but can see the ocean clearly,” another quipped.
“Apologies, but the level of nonsense, particularly on this reel, is wildly disproportionate. People seem deeply disconnected from ground reality. The above may make sense when you are accustomed to buying LV bags, but not when you simply want to live comfortably,” a third person opined.
One comment under the video read, “Let’s get real. Most of India won’t even earn 1 cr in their lifetimes. How about tips to help the bottom 99% thrive rather than survive?”
Wealth management firm Dezerv clarifies
Dezerv provided detailed clarification on how Jethwani arrived at the ₹40 crore figure. "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,” the company said in a statment shared with HT.com.
"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."