For many young professionals, retirement remains an abstract, distant concept overshadowed by more immediate life goals like securing a home loan, planning a wedding, or raising a family.

This prioritisation, while understandable, carries a significant and often overlooked financial cost. The decision to delay retirement planning is a critical error, one that can compound over decades and lead to a less secure, or even financially strained, future.

Evolving Realities Demand a Fresh Lens

Traditionally, retirement in India has been supported by employer pensions, joint family systems and moderate goals. Today, the support structure has evolved. With the rising life expectancy, increasing healthcare costs and inflation, long-term savings are witnessing a setback.

With nuclear families replacing intergenerational households and fewer businesses providing guaranteed pensions, individuals are now primarily responsible for securing their own retirements.

According to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Annual Report 2023–24, participation in pension schemes such as the National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) continues to expand, yet coverage remains low relative to India’s working population.

This finding highlights the urgency of starting retirement planning earlier in life, as delayed preparation often leads to financial insecurity and regret later.

This is not just a number; it is a societal transformation of unprecedented magnitude, with far-reaching consequences for families, communities, and the economy. With the downfall in the dependency ratio and traditional support structures, most Indians will have to fund their own retirement.

A Positive Shift in Mindset

There are encouraging indicators highlighting that this narrative has started to change. Around 38% of Indians have realised that retirement planning should start before the age of 35.

Increase in financial awareness, wider access to digital and the growing realisation that the actions at the early stage would result in a stress situation in the long run have resulted in a shift.

Planning early isn’t just a “good to have”; it’s becoming essential for securing the unpredictable future.

The Power of Starting Early

The single most powerful factor in retirement planning is time. Starting in your 20s or early 30s gives your money decades to grow through the power of compounding. Even modest contributions, when invested consistently, can multiply into a sizeable corpus.

Consider this simple example: if someone invests ₹10,000 per month at 10% annual returns until age 60, the outcomes vary dramatically depending on when they begin.

  • Starting at 35, the corpus at retirement would be around ₹34 crore.
  • Starting at 50, the same person would accumulate only about ₹20 lakh.

The difference is staggering, even though the monthly investment amount is identical. What changes everything is time.

Early planning also creates freedom. It allows you to make life decisions, such as changing careers, taking a sabbatical, or starting a business, without jeopardising long-term security. Retirement then shifts from being a safety net to an enabler of personal choice and flexibility.

Retirement Planning as a Life Skill

In today’s India, it is important to plan for retirement as you learn to manage your taxes. With post-retirement life potentially spanning 20–25 years, and with inflation and healthcare costs showing no signs of slowing, there arises the need for a self-sufficient retirement strategy.

Planning your retirement also brings confidence and peace of mind. This approach shifts your mindset from uncertainty to confidence, from dependency to self-reliance.

Financial independence in old age is not just a number; it’s a powerful source of emotional and psychological well-being.

Choosing a Path That Evolves with You

An individual doesn’t need to start with complex financial instruments. It is witnessed that most of the early planners begin with straightforward savings or investment plans and then, over the years, with the increase in income and as the responsibilities grow, they evolve their portfolios.

Over time, individuals may combine protection-based savings, guaranteed income tools, and market-linked investments to suit their needs.

The key to long-term freedom is consistency. Early planners have the flexibility to build diversified portfolios, ride out market cycles, and benefit from lower insurance premiums and tax advantages. Starting small, but early, beats starting big, but late.

Technology Is Changing the Game

Digital tools have enabled planning for your retirement to be more transparent and accessible. Today, an investor can easily use retirement calculators, mobile apps, or robo-advisory services platforms to estimate future needs, track progress, and adjust in real time.

These tools help simplify what was once considered a complex process for planning your investments.

Beyond tools, there’s also a shift in how retirement is being talked about. More professionals are viewing it not as a distant, rigid stage of life, but as a flexible phase that allows you to slow down, reinvent, or simply live on your own terms.

Retirement Planning and India’s Financial Future

As India strives for the overarching vision of “Insurance for All by 2047,” planning your retirement will be critical. This extends beyond personal security by promoting national financial stability, reducing reliance on family and government, and ensuring that more people can age in dignity.

For enabling this on large scale, retirement planning must become a part of the financial mainstream. Conversations about it should begin earlier, particularly in schools, businesses, and communities.

Start Now, Thank Yourself  Later

Planning your retirement before the age of 35 should not be considered a sacrifice rather a step towards empowerment. It is about constructing a future in which your financial freedom, choices, and peace of mind are safeguarded.

Time is the one financial asset that you can never reclaim. The earlier you begin, the more effectively it works in your favour.