Scope of mechanical enggineering from BITS PILANI

Ans: At 51, planning for retirement now is wise and timely. You’ve made disciplined choices already. Let's assess your current position and structure a 360-degree strategy for your retirement.

Your Current Financial Position
Here’s a simple summary of where you stand:

Fixed Deposit: Rs. 60 lakhs

SIP Investment: Rs. 60,000 monthly (recently started)

Life Insurance Policies: With LIC, HDFC, TATA AIG, Axis

PPF Balance: Rs. 18 lakhs

Real Estate Investment: Already made

Age: 51 years

You are on the right track. However, to ensure a smooth retirement, a structured and evaluated approach is needed.

Step 1: Understand Your Retirement Goal
Let’s think ahead 9 to 12 years. That is when you will likely retire. By then, you need:

A steady monthly income

Emergency medical funds

Funds for lifestyle, travel, and other goals

Protection from inflation

Your retirement corpus must give consistent income for at least 30 years after retirement.

Step 2: Evaluate Each Current Investment
Let us evaluate the strengths and issues in each of your current financial instruments.

1. Fixed Deposits – Rs. 60 Lakhs
FDs give safety but very low returns. Post-tax returns hardly beat inflation.

Issues with FDs:

Returns fall below inflation

Entire amount is taxable

No growth or wealth creation

Can’t support long-term retirement expenses alone

Suggestion:

Keep only 12–18 months of expenses in FD

Shift rest slowly into mutual funds through STP

2. SIP of Rs. 60,000 Monthly
Excellent habit. SIP is powerful. But we need to know:

Type of funds you are investing in

Whether they are regular funds through CFP or direct funds

If SIP is in direct funds, you may lack personalised review.

Disadvantages of Direct Mutual Funds:

No guidance from Certified Financial Planner

Emotional mistakes like panic withdrawals

No handholding during market falls

No periodic portfolio rebalancing

Hidden mistakes in fund selection

Advantages of Regular Funds through CFP:

Annual review and fund switch suggestions

Proper asset allocation based on your age

Investment aligned with your risk level

Right mix of equity and debt funds

Action Point:

Check if your SIP is through direct plans

If yes, move to regular plans via a CFP

Review funds and diversify as per your retirement horizon

3. PPF – Rs. 18 Lakhs
PPF is a safe, tax-free, and useful debt product.

Good points:

Tax-free returns

Secured by government

Acts as retirement cushion

However:

Interest is reducing over time

Lock-in is long

Not enough for full retirement income

What to do:

Continue with annual contribution

Use this for post-retirement safety bucket

Do not over-invest here

4. Insurance Policies (LIC, HDFC, TATA AIG, Axis)
Most likely, these are traditional or ULIP policies.

Problem with Investment + Insurance Plans:

Very low returns (5–6% only)

Long lock-in periods

Not inflation-beating

Complicated to track

What you should do:

Identify all policies that are not term insurance

Surrender them if minimum term is over

Reinvest that money in mutual funds via SIP/STP

Buy a standalone term plan if you don’t have one

Surrendering Policies? Yes, if these are:

Endowment plans

Money-back policies

ULIPs

You will benefit more if you surrender and reinvest carefully.

5. Real Estate Investment
You already have exposure here. Please don’t increase more.

Why not real estate?

Low liquidity

High transaction cost

Rental yield is poor

Maintenance cost rises with time

Cannot support monthly expenses

Action:

Hold current properties

Do not depend on them for retirement income

Don’t buy more for investment purpose

Step 3: Create an Ideal Retirement Strategy
Now let’s build your plan based on what you should start doing.

Ideal Asset Allocation for You
Equity Mutual Funds – 50% of corpus

Debt Mutual Funds + PPF – 30%

FD + Liquid Funds – 10–15%

Gold Funds or Sovereign Gold Bonds – 5–10%

This will balance growth and safety.

Keep SIP Alive, But Diversify
You must continue SIP. But it should be well-diversified.

Split Rs. 60,000 monthly SIP across:

Large cap and flexi cap mutual funds

Balanced advantage funds

Hybrid equity-debt funds

Low duration debt funds (for stability)

Review funds every year with a CFP.

Do not chase small cap or thematic funds at this stage.

Set Up a Medical Emergency Fund
Health issues increase post-55. Keep funds aside for:

Medical emergency

Hospitalisation

Health premiums

Steps:

Get a good health insurance with Rs. 10–25 lakh cover

Keep Rs. 5–10 lakhs in liquid mutual funds for health

Build Retirement Income Buckets
Break your retirement corpus into 3 buckets.

Bucket 1 (0–5 Years):

Liquid funds, short-term debt funds, FD

For monthly expenses after retirement

Should cover at least 5 years of cash flow

Bucket 2 (6–15 Years):

Hybrid mutual funds, balanced advantage funds

Grows moderately with limited risk

Will refill Bucket 1 when needed

Bucket 3 (15+ Years):

Pure equity mutual funds

For long-term growth and legacy

Will protect against inflation in later years

This approach ensures peace of mind and regular cash flows.

Consider STP from FD to Mutual Funds
You already have Rs. 60 lakhs in FD.

Don’t move it all at once

Use STP (Systematic Transfer Plan)

Transfer monthly into mutual funds over 2–3 years

Reduce risk and benefit from market averaging

Talk to a CFP to plan this properly.

Tax Planning in Retirement
You must know the tax impact on withdrawals.

PPF is tax-free

FD interest is fully taxable

Equity mutual funds – LTCG above Rs. 1.25 lakh taxed at 12.5%

Equity STCG is taxed at 20%

Debt funds taxed as per your income slab

Plan redemptions smartly to save tax.

Avoid These Mistakes
You are close to retirement. Avoid:

Buying more real estate

Continuing traditional insurance policies

Investing without reviewing

Taking advice from unqualified people

Putting all money in FD

Finally
You’ve taken important steps already. That deserves appreciation.

Now is the time to optimise, protect, and grow wisely. Retirement planning must cover:

Growth for inflation

Safety for market risk

Liquidity for expenses

Simplicity in portfolio

A certified financial planner can help you assess this every year.

Key Actions for You:

Shift from FD to mutual funds in a phased manner

Surrender low-return insurance policies and reinvest

Continue SIP with proper diversification

Build three retirement buckets

Keep health fund ready

Use regular mutual funds with guidance

Avoid direct and index funds for lack of personalisation and performance

Best Regards,
K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,
Chief Financial Planner,
www.holisticinvestment.in
https://www.youtube.com/@HolisticInvestment