Seven in 10 urban Indians aspire to retire before the traditional retirement age of 58–60 if their financial needs are secured, while half of them want to achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE) before 50, according to Axis Max Life Insurance’s Bharosa Talks India Retirement Index Study (IRIS 6.0), conducted with Kantar.
The study found that urban Indians have accumulated only 28% of their target retirement corpus on average. While 61% know the corpus required to sustain their lifestyle after retirement, only 11% expect their savings to last their lifetime and 39% fear the corpus may not last five years. Among Gen X+ respondents aged 45 and above, 82% believe they may need to continue working for regular income, while 91% regret not starting investments earlier.
Retirement planning is also moving to younger age groups. Half of urban Indians believe planning should begin with the first paycheque, while 62% of Gen Z respondents have already started investing for retirement. The overall IRIS score improved to 49 in 2026 from 48 in 2025 and 44 in 2022.
In Itanagar, the findings indicate potential for greater awareness and adoption of long-term retirement, pension and insurance products as formal financial planning gains importance among working households. The broader improvement in Tier II cities, where the IRIS score rose to 48 from 44, also points to a narrowing preparedness gap with metros.
The study further found that the share of respondents considering ₹1 crore or less sufficient for comfortable retirement declined to 70% from 77% in 2025. Tier II cities improved to an IRIS score of 48, while metros remained at 50.
