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When most of us think about our retirement, a magical number comes to mind - 'one crore rupees'. The reason for this is that the value of crores is still very high and many people in India are not even close to this figure. In such a situation, they feel that if they save 1 crore rupees till retirement, then life will pass comfortably. Financial planners also often suggest plans to create a fund of 1 crore through SIP.

But before building castles in the air, stop for a moment and think that if you are 30 years old right now and if you start retirement planning from now, then 30 years from today, that is, when you actually retire at 60, what will be the real value of that 1 crore rupees? If you really want your old age to be spent comfortably and to be completely 'future-proof', then you must do 5 things from today itself.

First, know the enemies of your savings.

First enemy: Inflation

Inflation is the 'silent killer' that secretly reduces the power of your money. The average rate of inflation in India has been around 6% over a long period of time.

If we assume an average inflation rate of 6%, then:

₹1 crore after 30 years will be worth only ₹17.41 lakh today.

This means that the lifestyle that you can live today in ₹17-18 lakh, for the same after 30 years, you will have to spend ₹1 crore.

So, if you want your purchasing power after retirement to be equal to ₹1 crore today, then you will have to create a fund of about ₹5.74 crore after 30 years!

Second enemy: Rising health expenses
After retirement, our income stops, but there is one expense that keeps on increasing with age - medical expenses. In India, the medical inflation rate is around 14-15%, which is more than double the general inflation. Even a small illness or surgery can drain your life savings in a few days.

How to make retirement 'future-proof'
1. 'Upgrade' your goal, include inflation
The first thing to do is forget your target of Rs 1 crore. Use an online 'inflation calculator' and understand how much money you will need after 20, 30, or 40 years, according to today's expenses. Make an Inflation-Adjusted target, which may be Rs 3, 4, or 5 crore, instead of Rs 1 crore.

2. Start investing for the long term
It is wrong to rely only on a savings account or an FD for retirement. You have to choose assets that can give faster returns than inflation.

Equity mutual funds: Can give an average return of 12-14% in the long term (15-20 years).

NPS (National Pension System): Gives both tax benefits and market-linked returns.

SIP (Systematic Investment Plan): You can create a big corpus by investing a small amount every month.

3. Make 'Step-up SIP' your biggest weapon

It is natural to be scared after seeing such a big goal. But its solution is also very easy. You have to increase your SIP amount every year along with your salary increase.

How it works

Suppose you start with a SIP of Rs 10,000 per month. In a 'Step-up SIP', you increase your SIP amount by 10% every year (10,000 in the first year, 11,000 in the second year, 12,100 in the third year, and so on). Keep increasing the amount by 10% every year. This will help you reach your goal faster.

4. Do health insurance and medical planning

Your retirement fund of Rs 5 crore will also be useless if it is used up in the treatment of a major illness. Therefore, do health insurance and medical planning along with the retirement fund.

For this, take a family floater policy.

Add critical illness cover separately.

Get the health policy renewed before the age of 60 so that the premium remains low.

According to IRDAI data, medical inflation in India is increasing at the rate of 10-12% annually. That is, if an operation costs Rs 5 lakh today, then after 30 years, the same surgery can cost up to Rs 80-90 lakh.

5. Create passive income sources

It is risky to depend only on savings and a pension. You will have to create such passive income sources that continue even after retirement.

Rental income: Buy property and earn rent.
Dividend income: Dividends from shares or mutual funds.

Digital assets: Income like blogging, courses or books that give a steady cash flow.

If you have a fixed passive income of Rs 20,000 till retirement, you will get an additional Rs 2.4 lakh annually. This can make a difference of about Rs 50 lakh or even more in the retirement period.

What mistakes should be avoided?

Relying only on FD or PPF.

Delaying in starting investments for retirement.

Not taking health insurance.

Not creating a passive income source.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Zee Business. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.