As we all grow older, expenses start piling up on us. This could mean children going off to college expenses, health and wellness expenses or simply clearing off debt so that you can start saving up for retirement.

But one thing we all worry about is, how much do we need for retirement? Will our savings be enough? Or is there a smarter way to save so that I can have the retirement corpus all ready even before my hair turns silver?

We too, at Basis had the same questions at the back of our minds. We wanted to solve this for not just ourselves, but for all of you out there are well. So we started doing a deep-dive into data, just to see if it was a problem that needed to be solved.

Our findings, while didn’t surprise us, propelled us towards moving ahead with the mission to solve this problem. The number of people above 60 years is expected to increase to over 350 million by 2050, up from around 120 million at present. This 200% increase over the current numbers is expected to pose a major economic challenge in the future.

Research shows while building a corpus for retirement, women will need to save at least twice as much as men. This is due to factors like gender pay gap, fewer working years, longer life expectancy.

But first, we needed a few questions answered.

Why do I need a Retirement Corpus?

What is the ideal amount I need to save for my future?

Isn’t my spouse’s retirement corpus sufficient?

The answers to these questions were simple -

Yes! Let’s find out! and No!

Thus was born the idea of the retirement Calculator. A tool built into the Basis app that allows you to calculate the estimated amount you will need at the time of retirement.

Sounds too good to be true? Let’s walk you through exactly how you’ll be able to arrive at the retirement corpus amount!

Current Age: You will need to input your age.

Retirement Age: You will need to add the age you aspire to retire or will be mandatorily retiring due to your workplace policy.

Monthly Expense: You will then need to list an estimate of your monthly expenses. This could be your current monthly expenses and ones that you know will go on even post retirement. You don’t need to include one-time expenses such as your children’s education, children’s wedding expenses, EMIs etc.

And that’s it! Keeping in mind the inflation rate, life expectancy for women, and some other economic factors, our algorithm will arrive at an estimated amount that you will need as your retirement corpus.

Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Money is important, but what’s more important is knowing how to manage it better, plan and execute this to the best of your capabilities.

The road to financial independence is a long and winding one, and we, at Basis, are here to make that journey of yours a little less intimidating and a lot more fun!

This feature is currently available on the Android app only. We are working towards getting it on the iOS app soon.

This article is written by Ashu Mishra for Basis

Ashu works as a Product Manager at Basis.

Basis is a first-of-its-kind platform, aimed at enabling women to achieve financial independence through expert advice, in-app learning modules and supportive communities.