What expert says
Atish Jain, CEO of Choice Connect, explained this in detail. “At a ₹35,000 pension, the priority is liquidity and capital safety over chasing yield. My approach: ladder Senior Citizen FDs across 1, 2, and 3-year maturities — this gives near-equal returns to longer lock-in products, plus deposit insurance and the flexibility to access funds when needed.”
He further added, “Ring-fence ₹5,000 for healthcare separately. For the remaining corpus, stick to instruments where capital is protected and accessible, rather than products that trade flexibility for marginally higher returns. At this stage, predictable access to your own money matters more than squeezing out extra yield.”
Keeping the above-discussed concepts and Jain's recommendations in mind, retirees may also consider drafting a well-thought-out monthly budget that prioritises covering essential expenses first, while leaving some space for discretionary spending.
The idea is to ensure that, as a retiree, one clearly understands the limitations of their income and devises a prudent monthly plan in accordance with this fundamental constraint in mind. Let us now take a look at a sample monthly budget for retirees to use for ideation and future financial planning.
The budget discussed below reflects realistic living costs in tier-2 cities such as Lucknow and similar urban areas, where expenses vary only slightly by locality and broadly follow comparable patterns.
Sample monthly budget (Tier-2 cities like Lucknow)
Life and expenses in a tier-2 city
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. Readers should consult certified financial experts before making investment or retirement planning decisions.