Nearly three-fourths of people in North India aspire to retire before the traditional retirement age, but confidence in their ability to sustain themselves financially after retirement remains low, according to the sixth edition of the India Retirement Index Study (IRIS) by Axis Max Life Insurance, conducted in partnership with Kantar.
The study found that 74% of respondents in North India would like to retire early if their financial needs were taken care of. Of these, 49% aspire to achieve financial independence and retire before the age of 50.
However, only 26% expect their retirement savings to last at least 10 years, down from 38% in the previous edition of the study. Respondents also reported accumulating an average of just 26% of their target retirement corpus.
North India recorded an overall retirement preparedness score of 47 in IRIS 6.0, down from 48 in the previous edition and below the national score of 49. It also had the lowest score among the four regions.
The index measures preparedness across three parameters — financial, health and emotional wellbeing.
Financial preparedness improves, but corpus concerns persist
North India’s Financial Preparedness Index improved to 50 from 48 in the previous edition, although it remained below the national average of 52.
The proportion of respondents who had started investing for retirement increased to 68% from 64%. However, this was still below the national figure of 70%.
Awareness of retirement planning also remained relatively low. Only 39% of respondents believed retirement planning should begin as soon as a person starts earning, compared with 50% nationally. The average age at which respondents in the region believed they should start thinking about retirement savings was 33, against the national average of 31.
Meanwhile, 64% said they knew how much money they would need to maintain their current lifestyle after retirement, down from 70% in the previous study.
Expectations around retirement savings have also increased. About 32% of respondents said they would need a corpus of more than ₹1 crore for a comfortable retirement, compared with 21% in the previous edition. This was the highest proportion among the four zones.
Health and loneliness add to retirement concerns
Financial readiness was not the only area of concern. North India’s Health Preparedness Index declined to 44 from 46, making it the lowest among all four regions.
Only 70% of respondents expected to remain fit and healthy during retirement, down from 74% in the previous edition and below the national figure of 75%.
The proportion undertaking preventive health check-ups regularly or occasionally also declined to 61% from 63%. Meanwhile, 39% reported engaging in regular physical activity, compared with 41% nationally.
Emotional preparedness moderated to 54 from 55. A key concern was loneliness during retirement, with 81% of respondents worried about being lonely, the highest proportion among all zones and above the national figure of 74%.
Confidence in receiving support from family and friends also weakened, with 84% feeling secure about such support, compared with 88% in the previous edition.
Concerns about external factors featured prominently as well. About 85% worried that changing environmental conditions could affect their retirement, while 83% expressed concern about geopolitical tensions.