Something as basic as lack of time can prevent a person from achieving his financial goals. We all have lot of commitments and the meager time left is for our loved ones.  Provident funds will only help you achieve half of your retirement goals. The return on FD bearing 7% interest provides 4.9% of returns after taxation, which when compared to rate of inflation of 5.7% is actually a negative return. We are not aware of the amount which we require to meet our financial goal. A personal financial advisor is what you need.