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Co-founder of wealth-tech start-up Dezerv, Sandeep Jethwani's calculation is going viral and is causing chatter on social media. While appearing on The Money Mindset podcast hosted by journalist Sonia Shenoy, Jethwani said a person spending in the range of ₹1-2 lakh per month in a metro right now would need about a ₹40 crore corpus at 60 years old to have a comfortable retirement.

That's without her own home and car. Jethwani broke down his figure, calculating for several factors, including high city inflation, rising healthcare expenses, length of life, and maintaining a standard of living over 30 years of retirement. He added it equates to around ₹1.34 crore a year.

This triggered a strong backlash on social media, with some branding such a sum as "absolutely shocking" and implausible for many, while others acknowledged the grim truth of inflation and the metro lifestyle. Some called it "classist"; others emphasized the need for early and intense saving and investment.

The debate has revived the debate on retirement in India, where earlier definitions of corpus (₹1-5 crore) are under threat. Experts recommend rethinking one's life goals, inflation rates, and early SIPs no matter the corpus.