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| Scheme Name | 1-Year Return | Invest Now | Fund Category | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axis Nifty 50 Index Fund | +32.80% | Invest Now | Equity: Large Cap | 0.12% |
| Axis Nifty 100 Index Fund | +38.59% | Invest Now | Equity: Large Cap | 0.21% |
| Axis Nifty Next 50 Index Fund | +71.83% | Invest Now | Equity: Large Cap | 0.25% |
| Axis Nifty 500 Index Fund | — | Invest Now | Equity: Flexi Cap | 0.10% |
| Axis Nifty Midcap 50 Index Fund | +46.03% | Invest Now | Equity: Mid Cap | 0.28% |
While living longer is clearly a desired outcome, it brings with it an essential reality: the need to plan for a long life, and the worry that we’ll outlive our savings. It is against this backdrop and this changing milieu that Axis Max Life Insurance’s India Retirement Index Study (IRIS) is set.
With the betterment of health parameters, most of us will outlive our jobs, and retire. But as the IRIS 4.0 study shows, 1 in 2 respondents feel that their savings will deplete in just one decade. Given that most of us retire at 58 or 60, this translates into destitution in old age. 77% of the respondents worry that rising costs of medical expenses will eat into the retirement kitty, while 78% feel that rising cost of living is a worry. 31% aren’t even sure how to calculate the retirement corpus they’ll need to maintain their current lifestyle.
It is these mindsets and assumptions that we set out to challenge with the IRIS survey. Now in its fourth year, the IRIS survey continues to inform, educate and challenge people like us to face the realities of what our retirement will look like. Equally importantly, the IRIS survey findings also arm insurance and retirement solution providers with key trends and customer needs, enabling them to create products that serve us better.
The Long Horizon: Millennials and Early Planning for Retirement
The IRIS survey found that 44% of Indians believe retirement planning should start before 35. It also found that 93% of those over the age of 50 feel the same, and wish that they had begun planning for retirement much sooner.
At Max Life Insurance, we know that investing can seem daunting, and the more complex a product is, the more hesitant you feel towards taking the plunge. Aimed at GenZ and Millennials, Max Life Insurance offers a range of plans designed to provide financial security, without the hassle of complexities. While these plans offer various customisations, the base plan is a simple one – you pay a fixed premium for a fixed term, in return for guaranteed benefits and non-guaranteed benefits including lump sum payouts and regular income.
The Smart Wealth Advantage Guarantee Plan, for instance, is a great way to build up a corpus for specific needs – like making a down payment for your dream home, providing for your children’s education, or any other milestone. The plan also has an option that allows to create additional income streams, combined with life cover. This way, you can begin generating income today, or provide for yourself down the line, when you retire.
Cashing in on High Income Years: Mid-career solutions
Our mid-thirties are often when most of us find our stride – we’re in middle management positions at work, our families are growing, we’re thinking of buying our homes or are in the process of paying down our home loans, and the family budget is largely in the green.
This is also the best time to start retirement planning, if not already underway, as the IRIS survey shows. This is the stage where our investments shift away from pure growth investments to a mix of those that provide both growth and income. Creating multiple income streams at this stage is key – after all, we can’t plan retirement based on accumulating enough savings alone.
To that end, the Max Life Smart Wealth Advantage Growth Par Plan combines growth and income, in addition to giving you the flexibility to choose your own premium payment schedule, and your monthly income schedule. Also, for those who are on the receiving end of a career-end windfall, the Max Life Smart Wealth Annuity Guaranteed Pension Plan creates safety through a non-participating, non-linked, annuity plan that begins generating lifelong income after retirement for you, or for both you and your spouse if you choose the joint-life annuity option. Moreover, the death benefit ensures that your initial investment is preserved for your heirs, with 100% of it being returned to them.
The Final Sprint: Securing Retirement for Baby Boomers and Pre-Retirees
It’s easy to feel like you’ve missed the boat at this stage, given that everyone is telling you that you should have begun investing towards your retirement 15 years ago. However, I do want to point out that you still can make a significant difference, especially because at this stage, you don’t have to account for inflation as much as young people do.
Annuities are a great way to create stress free, hands-off passive income that you can rely on. Max Life Smart Wealth Annuity Guaranteed Pension Plan, for instance, ensures lifetime income, and it gives you the flexibility to tailor your policy to your particular needs. Max Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income Plan is another scheme that allows you to turn small savings into significant income – particularly if you choose the deferred annuity variant which allows your investment to multiply.
Living Longer, Living Better: Women’s Growing Role in Retirement Preparedness
One of the IRIS survey findings we were most delighted by is the success with which women are navigating retirement preparedness. 68% of women have begun investments for retirement (compared to only 61% of men) and 66% are confident that their current investments will ensure a secure retirement. 58% of women undertake regular health checks (for men that number is just 52%) and 48% are confident that they will be fit and healthy in their golden years. 49% of women have health insurance, and 39% engage in active physical activities.
While women tend to outlive men it is by taking better care of their health today, these women are investing in their ability to be physically independent and active, well into their golden years, infusing more life and living into this critical time. This, combined with their financial independence creates a much more positive outlook for a retirement filled with hobbies and activities, travel, and time spent with family that isn’t colored by dependence.
While women have access to all the options we’ve already mentioned, they may find that several of these offerings have specific discounts and special rates aimed at them.
Special Cohorts: Gig Workers and DINKs (Double Income, No Kids)
Sitting on opposite ends of the spectrum, gig workers and DINKs both have special needs and challenges when it comes to retirement planning. Gig workers often struggle with fluctuating income month-on-month that makes regular investment a challenge. This translates into future worries about meeting their family’s basic needs during retirement and securing their children’s futures. DINKs, on the other hand, are less worried about exhausting their savings, or not being able to meet their medical, basic and luxury needs. Since DINKs have fewer expenses, they can focus more on their own retirement.
For both these cohorts, several of the examples and products explained in this article apply: gig workers may be better served by annuities and other investment plans that create additional income streams, giving themselves both stability, and the ability to invest further: Kickstarting a virtuous cycle that brings even ambitious financial goals closer to being attainable. Since DINKs have a deeper pool of expendable income to draw from, they can be more aggressive with their investments – both in terms of the amount of investment they make, and the investment vehicles they chose.
Holistic Retirement Planning: Going Beyond Financial Preparedness
There is no doubt that financial preparedness is key to a secure, stress free and fun retirement. However, we feel that it is just one pillar of a triad: financial preparedness, health preparedness and emotional preparedness. It starts with self-reflection about our health and our lifestyle, and educating ourselves on how to take better care of our bodies and minds. It also involves being emotionally prepared for a time in our lives when our purpose will come from something other than our jobs.
This is an investment in our own agency – our ability to take charge, and plan our own lives with confidence. I can’t think of a better retirement, than one where we can all feel empowered to make our own choices and independently make our way through the world, even as we get older.
The author of this article is Sumit Madan, Chief Distribution Officer, Axis Max Life Insurance.
