Recently, during a discussion in Delhi, in a part of the city where a large number of people from the Northeast live, we were talking about how people manage and think about money. During that conversation, someone shared a story that made me want to write about this. I couldn’t help but wonder if a number of us might be going through something similar.
It was about a lady who had just retired from government service. Like many government employees, she received a lump-sum amount at retirement. And guess what? She had absolutely no idea what to do with the money.
She was actually scared of losing it. She worried that someone might take it from her. At one point, she even thought about taking the money and hiding it somewhere at home, in a place where no one would think to look.
How do you feel about that? It made me think: how many of us actually prepare for this stage of our lives?
We spend a lot of time preparing for a career, building a family and planning for our children’s education. And when retirement comes, let’s be honest, we’re excited to see that money finally hit our bank account. But once it does, how many of us actually know what to do with it?
Of course, everyone will deal with it differently. Some may be more prepared, some may have family to guide them, while others may simply feel lost. And this is especially for those who may find themselves in that situation.
So, what can we do? We can seek guidance from people who understand financial planning. We can also educate ourselves and understand the choices available to us before retirement arrives.
There is another thing we often underestimate: how long our money may actually need to last. With improving medical care and increasing life expectancy, our retirement years could potentially be much longer than we expect. That means there is a possibility of outliving our savings if we don’t plan carefully.
At Moneybar, we have been working on a simple way of looking at retirement allocations, keeping our local context in mind and using financial instruments that people are familiar with. One way to think about it is to divide your retirement corpus across different time horizons: 3–5 years: Fixed deposits or other relatively stable options for near-term needs. 5–10 years: Assets such as flats or apartments that can potentially provide rental income and appreciate over time.12–15 years: Gold as one part of a longer-term allocation.
These are broad ideas, not a formula for everyone. Your age, expenses, existing assets, family responsibilities and risk tolerance all matter. The important thing is to start thinking about this before the lump sum arrives.
And if you’re at a point where you’re unsure what to do next with your money, Moneybar can help you make sense of your options, build a plan and take the next step with confidence.
Paweü Kayina
Founder Moneybar | Building NE India’s Finance Community
Wednesday, September 23, 2026