In a troubling reflection of India’s rising personal debt crisis, a government employee has turned to Reddit seeking advice as he stares down Rs 29 lakh in loans across more than nine sources—just 4.5 years away from retirement.
With a monthly in-hand salary of Rs 62,000 and pension prospects of Rs 30,000 post-retirement, the individual revealed that a mix of personal loans, chitty commitments, and society loans—some taken using friends’ salary certificates—has landed him in deep financial distress. Some lenders have reportedly issued legal notices and threatened salary recovery.
“I’ve cut down expenses to Rs 27,000 and can reduce further to Rs 22,000, but EMIs and urgent dues already exceed my current capacity,” he wrote. Despite a decent credit score of 774, the mounting pressure has pushed him to explore debt consolidation, including taking a Rs 20 lakh personal loan from a new bank like IDFC or HDFC with a longer tenure of 6–7 years.
“I want to avoid salary cuts, maintain a clean record before retiring, and reduce my total EMI burden to under Rs 40,000 a month,” he added.
With his current banker, SBI, already one of the lenders involved, he’s unsure if a fresh loan from them is viable. The post has prompted dozens of users to offer strategies—from approaching NBFCs for consolidation to seeking legal debt restructuring advice.
One user advised debt consolidation to reduce EMI burden, but cautioned that finding a bank willing to lend so close to retirement would be difficult. Another suggested dipping into the retirement corpus as a last resort.
But reality checks followed.
“If you’re paying more than 70% of your net income as EMI, no bank will offer fresh loans or consolidate your debt,” wrote a user. Others urged prioritising high-EMI small loans first, saying, “Take money from somewhere and clear the costliest small loans. Then wait a couple of months for them to reflect as closed in your CIBIL report before trying to consolidate.”
Yet another pointed out a technical hurdle: “If the small loans were taken in the last six months, they can’t be transferred. You need to complete at least 9 EMIs to become eligible. Plus, some app-based loans aren’t transferable at all.”
As the discussion unfolded, the thread turned into a mix of financial wisdom and a sobering reminder of how quickly debt can spiral — especially when retirement is just around the corner.