Recently, I came across an article about an influx of 56,000 IT professionals in the Indian job market due to AI-led layoffs. AI is reshaping business productivity at one end and, in parallel, unwinding job security at the other. AI has been very good for many industries; for example, I use ChatGPT to create illustrations and images for the content I write. Earlier, I used to pay a graphic designer every time he created content. The good thing is that I can edit or redraw the images as many times as I like with ChatGPT until I am happy with them. The bad thing is that the graphic designer is replaced by a computer.
AI has severely dented the concept of long-term jobs. Earlier, people could get a job at a company, work until age 60, and then retire with benefits. With the IT revolution, people still had jobs, but not with the same company. Switching jobs for better pay and benefits took priority, but job security came down.
Retirement planning was still easy, as most of them stayed in their jobs till age 50 or 55; this meant 20 to 25 years of sweet time for wealth creation. With the AI revolution, things have changed drastically; you might still get a job, but it's not clear if you could last 10 or 15 years in the game.
For all of you who think you could stay in a job for at least 10 years, I present to you Operation FURY—the accelerated retirement plan.
FURY stands for Fix yoUr Retirement Year. Decide the exact year by which you wish to retire and derive the monthly SIP required to fuel that. I recommend setting a minimum period of 10 years, as you need to allow time for the magic of compounding to work.
If you wish to retire in 10 years, then the FURY = 2036. Once the year is set, the next step is to determine the required retirement corpus. To calculate that, we need to know your current monthly income. If your monthly income is ₹1 lakh, your retirement corpus can be ₹2 crore or more, i.e., 200x. Raising 2 crores in 10 years is not easy; it requires significant sacrifices and sustained discipline. That’s where the name Operation FURY comes in. It is expected to be difficult.
Visit the Step-up SIP calculator at Mutual Funds Sahi Hai and enter the monthly investment amount as 40 per cent of your current salary. Keep the annual step-up at 20 per cent and expected returns at 12 per cent. Keep the time period as 10 years.
Monthly SIP required: ₹40,000
Yearly Step Up required: 20 per cent (i.e., year 2 SIP = ₹40,000 x 1.2 = ₹48000, year 3 = ₹48,000 x 1.2 = ₹57,600, and so on)
Annual returns assumption: 12 per cent
Total Duration: 10 years
Total Invested: ₹1.25 crore
Final Maturity Value = ₹2.02 crore
Once you raise this ₹2 crore corpus, you would be able to manage your monthly expenses up to ₹1 lakh per month for the rest of your lives (assuming the corpus grows at 12 per cent or more yearly).
Why Operation FURY
For someone starting at age 25, Operation FURY enables them to grow 200x their initial monthly salary in 10 years, leaving a retirement corpus sufficient to withdraw the same salary they began with.
You can try this calculator with any combination of monthly salary. For e.g., if your monthly salary is ₹50,000, then the initial SIP would be 40 per cent of that, i.e., ₹20,000, and the corpus to raise would be 200x of ₹ 50,000, i.e., ₹1 crore. Operation FURY will work only if your annual step-up is 20 per cent, i.e., you are incrementing your monthly investments by 20 per cent YoY.
If your monthly salary is ₹2,00,000, then the monthly SIP required would be 40 per cent of ₹2 lakh, i.e. ₹80,000, and your corpus would be 200x of ₹2 lakh, i.e. ₹4 crore.
If you fear AI would replace your job but still have 10 more good years to go, then jump on the Operation FURY regiment. It is going to be tough, but there is no victory sweeter than securing your finances for the rest of your lives.
The writer is a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser (INA000021757), SEBI Registered Research Analyst (INH000025045), and author of ‘How to join the top 1% options traders club’.
DISCLAIMER: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, including the potential loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should read all related documents carefully and consult a certified advisor before investing. Registration granted by SEBI and Enlistment with RAASB/BSE and certification from NISM in no way guarantee the performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors. The investor is requested to take into consideration all the risk factors before actually trading in stocks or derivatives.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
