One in four urban Indian rates retirement planning as priority

MUMBAI: With Indians continuing to put their family first, retirement planning is quickly gaining ground as financial priority as nearly 24 per cent of urban consumers are readying for their old age, a recent survey said.

"Nearly a quarter of respondents or 24 per cent say retirement is their key financial priority, representing a 140 per cent increase from 2012. In 2012, only 10 per cent categorised it as a key priority," according to 'Trends and Insights Survey into Financial Goals of Indian Consumers' released on Friday by Ameriprise India.

Ameriprise India commissioned leading market research firm TNS India to design and execute this study in India.

Nearly 700 working professionals across six cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune were surveyed to represent sample of upwardly-mobile urban Indian professionals.

Many of those surveyed have opted to put big-ticket family purchases like travelling, buying secondary homes or cars-on hold to make way for retirement planning, it pointed out.

The change is seen across age groups, with even the youngest respondents in the age group of 28-33 years are giving increased importance to retirement, with 24 per cent rating it as a key priority.

"The increasing emphasis on retirement planning among Indian consumers is a welcome and encouraging trend," Ameriprise Financial President, Financial Planning and Wealth Strategies, Kim M Sharan said.

Retirement is a complex and often an intimidating issue to navigate, but research shows that having a financial plan in place can inspire confidence and make for a smoother path to this major life transition, she added.