How to plan for an early retirement

Experts advise investing retirement benefits in avenues that offer guaranteed and highest returns so that one does not need to compromise on living standards even after retirement.

Money9 Helpline hosted Plan Ahead Wealth Advisor’s founder and CEO, Vishal Dhawan to resolve all the queries related to early retirement.

Here are some queries:

A Mukherjee, Jadavpur: I am 26 years old, passionate about two-wheeler long trips, and work with a consultancy firm. I want to retire at the age of 50 years. How and where should I invest and achieve this goal?

Dhawan: It is great to know that you identified a passion that you are interested to pursue post-retirement also. You are right now 25 years old and have a good amount of time in hand to plan your retirement at 50. You can twist your portfolio to a riskier side like equities. I am also assuming that your savings rate is good, so it is good if you invest in equity.  Also, ensure you have enough health and life insurance. You should have a backup just in case, in future your saving potential or income generation reduce.

Rakesh Kumar: Can a PPF account be used for retirement purposes? If yes how can we do that?

Dhawan: PPF still is a very efficient instrument, for high bracket income rates. It has some sort of subsidised rates available. PPF gives a little over 7 % rate. It is an excellent account for retirement planning If you already have an EPF account as an employee, use a combination of debt and equities.