New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- Retirement planning often takes a back seat to immediate financial priorities such as buying a house, paying off a home loan, funding children's education and building an emergency fund. But delaying retirement planning can make an already large financial goal harder to achieve.

For someone spending Rs.50,000 a month today, the amount needed to cover routine expenses at retirement could be several times higher, depending on how many years remain before they stop working.

We calculated the retirement corpus required for people currently aged 30, 40, 50 and 55, using monthly expenses of Rs.50,000 today, 7% annual inflation, retirement at 60 and a life expectancy of 90. The calculations assume no existing retirement i...