Learn Retirement

How to compare retirement dates

Compare the spending you need with the savings you will have—and test what happens if markets disappoint.

By Kiran Puthezhath · Updated 5 September 2026

Start with spending, not your salary.

Estimate yearly retirement spending in today’s money, including healthcare and irregular bills. Count only savings available for retirement, not money set aside for other goals. Include future income only from the age it starts, allowing for tax and whether it rises with prices.

Example · simulation, not a forecast

The same retirement date can face very different outcomes.

A fictional 45-year-old has ₹2.1 Cr, adds ₹12 L a year until retiring at 53, and plans to spend ₹10 L a year through age 95. These amounts are in today’s money.

Share of model runs that fund spending through age 95:

Base assumptions
79%
Large market falls just after retirement
47%

The savings and spending inputs are the same. A bad start to retirement changes the result substantially.

Rounded from 1,589 and 936 funded runs out of 2,000. These are model outcomes, not your personal chances of success. See the full example and assumptions.

Change one thing at a time.

Try a later retirement date while keeping the other assumptions the same. Then look at the difficult-market and higher-inflation results too. This shows what changed the outcome without confusing several changes at once.

A model is not permission to stop working. Taxes, insurance, access to investments and personal circumstances still need separate review.

Compare retirement dates

Sources & limits

How the calculation works · SEBI financial goal planner

Fictional example for education, not personalised advice or a recommendation. Official resources do not imply endorsement of this site. Full disclaimer.