From Rs 1 Crore to Rs 4 Crore: How Much Money Do You Need for Health After 60?

An updated estimate for a couple, with an online calculator you can customize.

Bhavin Jankharia

6 Sep 2026 — 5 min read

Audio and YouTube versions available at the end of this email.

I had addressed this question in Sep 2021 and had come up with a number of 1 crore for a couple.

The assumptions at that time were:

You do not have a running working income after the age of 65 years…which should now change to 60 years.
You do not want to be dependent on your children.
You may have large, near-catastrophic expenses of up to Rs. 25 L, over and above your health insurance, at least twice in that lifespan.
You have active health insurance that has not lapsed.
You do not want to use the public health infrastructure of Government and Municipal hospitals.
Your non-health expenses on food, clothes, rent, society maintenance, travel, vacations, gifts and gadgets are not part of this calculation.

My expense estimates for a couple in 2021 were

Insurance - at least Rs. 1,00,000
Medicines - statins, aspirins, supplements, blood pressure and diabetes medicines - Rs. 60,000
Health check-ups - Rs. 20,000
Trainer / yoga teacher / meditation guide / health coach - Rs.1,00,000
Near-catastrophic illness buffer - at least two episodes in 25 years - Rs 50 lakhs

So what would the number be today? What has changed? Health expenses and insurance premiums have risen. I have also changed the age range from 65–95 to 60–90.

Here are my updated allowances for a couple in Mumbai. The first five amounts are annual expenses in today’s money.

Insurance — an allowance of Rs 1.2 lakh annually for the couple. If premiums increase by 10% each year, this becomes approximately Rs 8 lakh at 80 and Rs 13 lakh at 85. These increases are already included in the calculation.
Medicines — a base allowance of Rs 48,000 annually for the couple. Add any additional prescription costs for specific diseases in the calculator.
Health check-ups, consultations - Rs. 50,000
Dental and eye-care - Rs. 46,000
Trainer/yoga teacher/meditation guide/health coach - Rs. 2,40,000 (Rs. 2.4 lakh)
Near-catastrophic illness buffer — two episodes, around ages 75 and 85, each costing Rs 25 lakh in today’s money, over and above insurance. These amounts also increase with medical inflation.
Paid care — three years of an attendant for each person from ages 87-89, budgeted at Rs 40,000 per person per month in today’s money, increasing until needed. Prolonged dependence or qualified nursing could cost even more.

With these assumptions, a couple aged 60 today would need approximately Rs 3.7 to Rs. 4.0 crore invested for health expenses until age 90. In 2021, my estimate was Rs 1 crore. This increase reflects higher costs, an earlier starting age and an explicit allowance for paid care.

I have assumed annual increases of 9% for medical expenses, 10% for insurance premiums, 6% for exercise support and 8% for paid care. For investment returns, I have retained the original assumption of 5.5% after tax. You can change this in the calculator.

Click here for the online calculator, which I have created using ChatGPT Codex with GPT-6 Astra.

Health Budget Calculator | Atmasvasth

Estimate the investment a couple needs today for health expenses through age 90. Adjust premiums, exercise support, extra medicine costs and post-tax returns.

atmasvasthA guide to ageing healthfully

One fallback is the Ayushman Vay Vandana card for those aged 70 and above, regardless of income. It provides up to Rs 5 lakh per family annually at empanelled hospitals, including participating private hospitals. If you are over 70 or have family members over 70, please apply. The link is here.

Remember this is just health. Nothing else. This does not include holidays, entertainment, spending on clothes, kids’ weddings, grandchildren, travel, rent, household expenses, groceries, food, etc. All that is extra.

In summary, you need to set aside around Rs 4 crore as a couple for your health expenses till age 90, starting at age 60, if you are upper middle class or higher, living in a city like Mumbai.