INCOME TAX22 Sept 2026
Starting retirement investing at 40 with no corpus? Why chasing high returns could backfire, and what to do instead | Mint
Starting retirement investing at 40 with little or no savings does not mean you must chase aggressive returns. A shorter horizon makes steady, larger monthly investments more important than risky bets. So first work out the corpus you actually need, step up your savings each year, and slowly shift money from equity to debt as retirement nears.
Key Statutory Highlights
- If you plan to retire at 55 and need ₹50,000 a month today, that expense could rise to around ₹1.4 lakh a month in 15 years at 7% annual inflation.
- A common mistake among late starters is assuming they need much higher risk to make up for the years they did not invest.
- For medium-term goals, an allocation of around 60% equity and 40% debt can be considered, while short-term goals can stay fully in debt.
Actionable Advice for Taxpayers / Founders:Work out the retirement corpus you actually need, including expected expenses, inflation, existing assets and liabilities, and the years left. Then fix a monthly amount you can invest and step it up each year, rather than depending on unusually high returns. It may help to review this plan with a financial adviser.
Statutory Disclaimer: TaxQue Shorts are AI-assisted editorial briefs for compliance awareness. This brief has not passed every source check; confirm the original notification before acting. This does not constitute formal legal or CA counsel.
TaxQue News Desk
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