How Starting A ₹20,000 SIP At 35 Can Still Help Build ₹5 Crore Corpus By Retirement

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Many believe that missing the opportunity to start investing in their 20s automatically sets them behind on retirement goals. But according to financial experts, even a 35-year-old can build a retirement corpus of ₹5 crore with a disciplined approach and the power of compounding. What matters is consistency, the right investment strategy, and gradually increasing the SIP amount over time. With 25 years of disciplined investing, this goal is still within reach.


Why Time Still Favours a 35-Year-Old Investor

While beginning early certainly offers a compounding advantage , starting at 35 still leaves you with a solid 25-year investment window until retirement at 60. This timeframe is long enough for your investments to benefit from cumulative growth.

A monthly SIP in a mutual fund, even at a modest starting point, can significantly compound in value when sustained over this duration. The key lies in commitment — remaining consistent and increasing your contributions as income grows.


Starting With a Modest SIP: What ₹5,000 Per Month Can Do

Consider a case where someone begins investing ₹5,000 monthly into a mutual fund that delivers an annualised return of 12%. Over 25 years, this investment alone can create an estimated corpus of ₹85.11 lakh.

Here’s how it unfolds:


  • Total investment over 25 years: ₹15 lakh


  • Estimated capital gains: ₹70.11 lakh


  • Final corpus: ₹85.11 lakh


This growth shows the true potential of time and compounding, even with a relatively small monthly investment. But for those targeting a larger retirement goal — say, ₹5 crore — it will require both a higher initial SIP and incremental increases.


Step-Up SIP: Scaling Your Investments With Income

One of the most effective strategies, according to experts, is the step-up SIP — gradually increasing your monthly investment in line with your rising income. Most working professionals see their salaries grow annually by 5–10%. If you increase your SIP by 5% every year, you can massively boost your final corpus without feeling a financial pinch.

For example, an individual starting a ₹5,000 monthly SIP and increasing it by 5% each year will contribute significantly more over 25 years than someone who keeps their SIP stagnant.

This approach ensures that your investments scale with your earning power, helping you get closer to your retirement target even if you start a decade later than ideal.

How A ₹20,000 SIP With Step-Up Can Lead To ₹5 Crore

Let’s break down how a 35-year-old investor can realistically build a retirement fund nearing ₹5 crore using the step-up method.

  • Starting SIP: ₹20,000 per month



  • Annual step-up: 5% increase in SIP each year


  • Assumed annual return: 12%


  • Duration: 25 years

  • In this scenario, the total investment over 25 years would amount to ₹1.14 crore, while capital gains from compounding would contribute around ₹3.82 crore. The final corpus? An estimated ₹4.96 crore — nearly touching the ₹5 crore mark.

    What’s remarkable here is that this outcome doesn’t require an unusually high return or extreme investing behaviour. It simply relies on time, discipline, and adapting the investment amount annually with income growth.

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    Investment Habits That Make The Difference

    Financial advisors strongly suggest setting investment goals and automating SIPs so that saving becomes habitual. Additionally, reassessing contributions once a year — especially during appraisal season — ensures that your SIP keeps pace with income changes.

    Avoiding early withdrawals, maintaining diversification, and having a clear retirement objective can dramatically improve long-term outcomes.

    For those starting late, this method can help recover lost ground and still deliver a financially secure retirement.

    The notion that you must start investing at 25 to retire comfortably is outdated. While early investing helps, starting at 35 still offers a long enough horizon to harness the power of compounding — especially with tools like step-up SIPs. A structured plan with an increasing investment amount can help you accumulate a corpus of ₹5 crore or more, even without investing excessively.

    Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Individual financial decisions should be made in consultation with certified financial advisors. All examples and figures are based on standard assumptions and expert-backed projections.


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