₹100 crore retirement fund ‘a math scam’, ₹2-3 crore ‘strong number, stop taking advice from influencers’, warns CA

Building a ₹100 crore retirement fund is a “psychological trap”, according to a Chartered Accountant, who in a series of posts on social media platform X, broke down why having a more realistic goal of ₹2-3 crore as retirement savings is more important than “comparing your life with someone else's”.

In a lengthy post series on X (formerly known as Twitter), CA Nitin Kaushik called the “100 crore retirement” target a “math scam”, adding that it is “not just bad advice”, but a “psychological trap that makes the middle class feel poor while influencers get rich on your views”.

Influencers ‘selling a dream mathematically impossible for 99%’

Kaushik noted that the case for ₹100 crore retirement fund does not work out for majority Indians, even those earning in Tier 1 and 2 cities. Why? To build ₹100 crore savings over 30 years, you will need to invest ₹2.8 lakh annually in tools that earn at least 12% returns.

“They (influencers) are selling a dream that is mathematically impossible for 99% of their followers. Social media is a bubble, not the census. The top 1% in India holds 40% of the total wealth, while the bottom 50% shares just 15%. For most Indians, ₹1 Crore isn’t small it is a life changing, generational milestone,” he noted.

He added that in India, a large chunk of the middle-class spends 15-20 years paying off their home loans, which makes your home your biggest asset and biggest debt. “…Expecting a person to build a 9-figure equity portfolio at the same time is a fantasy designed to sell courses. This wealth porn is actually making people poorer,” he criticised.

Kaushik noted that many investors are disengaging with SIPs over the recent months as impossible goals (for ₹50 crore from investment) is resulting in frustration. “They (ordinary investors) feel like failures, they give up, and they stop investing entirely. Stop taking advice from people who make more money from Financial Planning Workshops than from their own investments,” he cautioned.

Retirement corpus of ₹2-3 crore ‘strong, practical number’

“For a large part of the Indian middle class, a retirement corpus of around ₹2 to 3 crore is actually a strong and practical number,” Kaushik feels, adding that people are being told to aim for “numbers that have no connection with their life”.

He believes that managing your spending, keeping expenses in control and building your corpus gradually will allow for a more “reasonable goal” of ₹3 crore as retirement savings.

When you are retired, Kaushik suggests using SWP. This is a feature for mutual fund investors, which you to withdraw fixed amounts at regular intervals, while still keeping the remaining corpus invested.

“When you withdraw around ₹1 lakh per month from a ₹3 crore corpus, the remaining amount still stays invested and continues to compound over time (assuming 12% returns). This is how your money doesn’t just deplete, it sustains you,” he explained.

How to build risk-ready retirement corpus?

In another post, Kaushik suggested building your corpus at “300x monthly expenses” in 2026. For anyone earning ₹1 lakh per month in 2026, to sustain a similar lifestyle at retirement would demand ₹3.5 crore corpus.

He also advices that unlike the US, where most retirees follow the 4% annual withdrawal rule, in India's high-inflation environment, a safer a 3% withdrawal rate is a “safe” choice. Further, he advises planning for longevity with annuity plans, long-term insurance, savings set aside (in mutual funds, FDs, or other instruments) for use once your cross a certain age.

Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.