I am 53. I have taken VRS. My wife is also voluntarily retiring in June 2018. We have a daughter. We have made provisions for her marriage. We live in our own house in Kerala.

I wish to maintain the same life style and live comfortably till our life expectancy. Do let me know how to deploy my wife’s settlement.

Murali Nair

Inflation may be the dampener in your life style

With your current surplus you may need to tone down the life style expectation. If you spend more money in the early part of your retired life, after five years you may need to sell your property to meet the monthly expenses.

It is always better to lead a comfortable life within one’s means. Assume that you need a monthly income of ₹50,000 to meet the expenses. Ten years later, your expenses will be double, if inflated at 7 per cent. So, meeting the shortfall is a challenge. Alternatively, if you spend ₹25,000, you can utilise the surplus to build wealth for future living expenses through SIP. You can live comfortably without depending on your daughter.

After 76, you face a shortfall in income. Check whether your property is eligible for reverse mortgage, if not, sell the property to live happily for the rest of your life. Most elders have too much attachment to their property and struggle for the rest of their lives. Avoid this mistake. Alternatively, if you wish to live to your expectation, sell the property and deploy the same to live comfortably.

To earn higher returns, invest in equity savings funds from mutual funds where the investment in equity is pegged to less than 30 per cent of the assets. This will, over a longer period, deliver 9-10 per cent.

The writer is a registered investment advisor and founder, myassetsconsolidation.com Send your queries to blinefp@gmail.com

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