However, retirement savings are falling well short of these ambitions. Respondents have accumulated, on average, just 28% of their target retirement corpus, the sixth edition of Axis Max Life Insurance’s Bharosa Talks India Retirement Index Study (IRIS), conducted with Kantar, found.
The study surveyed 3,489 households across 40 cities. Among respondents aged 45 and above, 82% said they felt they may never be able to fully retire and would continue to need income from work or business. Nine in 10 respondents in this age group also said they regretted not starting to invest for retirement earlier.
Sumit Madan, MD & CEO, Axis Max Life Insurance, said the findings highlight that retirement is increasingly being viewed as financial freedom rather than a specific age milestone.
“True retirement readiness should empower individuals to work because they want to, not because they need to,” Madan said. He added that younger Indians starting their retirement journey earlier indicates a shift towards more proactive planning, but that this intent needs to translate into sustained action across finances, health and emotional wellbeing.
Retirement corpus remains a concern
While 61% of urban Indians said they know how much money they will need for retirement, only 11% were confident that their existing corpus would last their lifetime. Meanwhile, 39% believed their retirement corpus would not last even five years.
The study also found that the ₹1 crore retirement corpus benchmark is losing some of its appeal. The proportion of respondents who believe ₹1 crore is sufficient for a comfortable retirement fell to 70% in 2026 from 77% in 2025. Among households earning more than ₹15 lakh annually, the proportion was lower at 51%.
Younger Indians start planning earlier
The study points to differences across generations in when retirement planning should begin. Gen Z respondents said retirement planning should ideally start at 29, compared with 31 for Millennials and 34 for Gen X+.
At the same time, 62% of Gen Z respondents said they had already started investing for retirement. The corresponding figures were 70% for Millennials and 75% for Gen X+.
Overall, half of urban Indians said retirement planning should begin with their first paycheque.
Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director & Chief Client Officer, South Asia, Kantar, said retirement planning is evolving across generations and geographies, with younger Indians beginning the process earlier.
She also pointed to the growing role of health in retirement preparation. The study found that 59% of respondents undertake regular or occasional health check-ups, while 44% of those who exercise regularly said they do so daily.
Tier II cities improve preparedness
Retirement preparedness in Tier II cities improved over the past year, with their Bharosa Talks IRIS score rising to 48 from 44. Metro cities, meanwhile, remained at 50.
The East zone recorded the highest score at 52, followed by the West and South at 49 each and the North at 47.
Health has also emerged as an important component of retirement planning. Three-fourths of respondents expect to remain healthy and fit in their later years, while 52% have health insurance and 21% use wearable devices to track their health.
Family support continues to feature prominently in retirement expectations, with 87% of respondents expecting to live with their children after retirement. However, the proportion who believe they will have adequate family and social support declined to 84% from 87% a year earlier.
Overall, India’s Bharosa Talks IRIS score rose marginally to 49 in 2026 from 48 in 2025 and 44 in 2022, indicating that retirement preparedness has improved, although the pace of improvement remains slower than the aspirations for early retirement.
Also read: Retirement planning: How to build a portfolio for long-term income and inflation
