If you have recently got married, congratulations! We know that you have already begun financial planning and made a list of your short term and long term goals like family planning, getting a house for yourself, planning for your kid’s future, etc. But have you also considered prioritizing retirement as a goal in this list of other financial goals? It is natural for newly married couples to feel that retirement planning is not something that they should have on their mind at a young age. But in reality, retirement planning is important and they should include it in their financial plan.
We’ll tell you why retirement planning is essential for married couples and you too need to sit down with your better half and discuss the same. Just like you are taking every other decision in life uniformly, making an informed investment decision in a retirement plan is equally necessary. Since you are young and aggressive, you may carry a decent risk appetite and may not mind investing in market linked schemes. If you have a long term investment horizon, are looking to diversify your investment portfolio and seeking capital appreciation through market linked schemes, you may consider investing in mutual funds.
Mutual funds have been misinterpreted by many as a tool that only offers high risk. However, this is not entirely true. Mutual funds are now being considered by several investors and are considered to offer investors with long term capital appreciation. Also, not all mutual funds carry a similar risk profile. SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has categorized mutual funds based on several unique traits which these funds carry.
What fund houses do is that they collect money from investors sharing a common investment objective and invest these pools of funds across the Indian and foreign economy depending on the nature of the scheme. Money is spread across multiple asset classes like equity, debt, debentures, corporate securities, government bonds, and other money market instruments.
Retirement planning tips for Married Couples
If you as a couple have decided to invest in a retirement fund but aren’t sure about how or where to invest to build a retirement corpus, here are some tips that might help:
Decide on how much money you actually need
You might feel that Rs. 1 crore is enough for you to spend your sunset years without any worries, but your spouse may think otherwise. Hence, it is necessary for you to discuss with your husband/wife and write down a figure and then aim for achieving that amount through systematic investing. That is because when you know how much wealth you need to accumulate, you will start saving and investing accordingly. So take your time and discuss with your spouse and come down to a realistic amount that can be achieved and that will take care of all your needs in old age.
Keep a long term investment horizon
Remember that to build a corpus worth a crore is not going to happen overnight. Just like you need adequate capital in hand to invest systematically, you also need a long term investment horizon and patience to watch your investments grow into a large corpus. It is almost impossible to earn an amount as big as a crore overnight. Hence couples are expected to be patient with their finances. Yes markets are volatile and yes they do fluctuate from time to time. But those who continue to invest systematically without worrying about the daily market vagaries are generally successful in getting closer to their ultimate financial goal.
Consider investing in Axis Retirement Fund
Married couples seeking capital appreciation through solution oriented funds can consider investing in Axis Retirement Fund. Axis Retirement Fund is an open-ended retirement fund that unambiguously focuses on investors who are hoping to build a corpus that can allow them financial stability and security during their post-retirement life.
Axis Retirement Fund offers three investment plans -
Axis Retirement Fund - Aggressive Plan: This plan can be opted by investors who are seeking capital appreciation with a long term investment objective. Here investments are predominantly made in equity and equity-related instruments as well as debt, money market instruments, Gold ETFs and units of REITs and InvITs. Investors who plan to opt for the Aggressive Plan can expect equity exposure anywhere from 65% to 80%.
Axis Retirement Fund - Dynamic Plan: This investment plan is brought into effect with a dual objective. Axis Retirement Fund - Dynamic Plan can generate capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity-related securities as well as generate income by investing in debt and money market securities. It manages to do this while attempting to manage risk from the market through active asset allocation. The Investment Plan may also invest in units of Gold ETF or units of REITs & InvITs for income generation.
Axis Retirement Fund - Conservative Plan: This investment plan by Axis Mutual Funds hopes to generate regular income through investments majorly in debt and money market instruments and to generate long term capital appreciation by investing a certain portion of the portfolio in equity and equity-related securities. Axis Retirement Fund - Conservative Plan may also invest in units of Gold ETF or units of REITs & InvITs for wealth creation.
Investors should bear in mind that the above plans differ in the varying degrees of equity and debt allocation and are suited for investors depending on their appetite for risk.
Axis Retirement Fund is a solution-oriented product aimed at building a wealthy retirement corpus for investors. This retirement fund can be considered by those who wish to lead a secure and financially stable life after retirement and also for those who want to indulge in their passions, hobbies, or venture on foreign trips in their sunset years.
Axis Retirement Fund - Aggressive Plan
An open-ended retirement solution oriented scheme having a lock-in of 5 years or till retirement age (whichever is earlier)

Axis Retirement Fund - Dynamic Plan
An open-ended retirement solution oriented scheme having a lock-in of 5 years or till retirement age (whichever is earlier)
Axis Retirement Fund - Conservative Plan
An open-ended retirement solution oriented scheme having a lock-in of 5 years or till retirement age (whichever is earlier)

Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.