FIRE Retirement Calculator

The 4% rule is a guideline suggesting you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, then adjust that dollar amount for inflation each year, with a reasonable historical chance the money lasts about 30 years. It comes from studies of past US market returns and is where the common practice of targeting 25 times annual spending originates. It is a starting point, not a guarantee: very long retirements, weak early returns, high fees, or high inflation can all strain it. Many early retirees stay flexible with spending or use a slightly lower rate for extra safety.

Your FIRE number is the portfolio size that would let you cover your annual expenses from investment withdrawals indefinitely. This calculator finds it by dividing your desired annual retirement spending by your chosen safe withdrawal rate. At a 4% rate, that means 25 times your annual spending. Lower your spending or accept a higher withdrawal rate and the number drops; raise spending or use a more cautious rate and it climbs. The figure is only as reliable as your spending estimate, so base it on a realistic budget for the lifestyle you actually want in early retirement.

Coast FIRE is the amount you would need invested today so that, even if you never contributed another dollar, it would grow to your full FIRE number by a traditional retirement age. Once you hit Coast FIRE, your existing investments can carry the load while your income only needs to cover current living expenses. It is a popular milestone because it offers flexibility: you might switch to a less demanding job, cut back hours, or stop saving aggressively. This calculator estimates your Coast FIRE number using your assumed real return and the years until traditional retirement.

Enormously. Your savings rate, the share of income you save, is the single biggest lever on how quickly you reach financial independence, more powerful than small differences in investment return. Saving a higher percentage does two things at once: it builds your portfolio faster and it lowers the annual spending you must eventually fund, which shrinks your FIRE number. That double effect is why people with very high savings rates can reach independence in a decade or two. Try raising the annual savings input in this tool to see how dramatically it shortens your timeline.

It may be too optimistic for a retirement expected to last 40, 50, or more years, because the original research was based on roughly 30-year horizons. A longer timeline gives more room for a bad sequence of early returns to permanently damage the portfolio. Many in the early-retirement community use a more conservative withdrawal rate, keep a cash buffer, or stay willing to earn some income or trim spending in weak markets. This calculator lets you set your own withdrawal rate, so you can test lower figures to see how they change your target.

These are informal variations of the same idea. Lean FIRE means reaching independence with a modest, frugal budget, so a smaller portfolio suffices. Fat FIRE targets a more comfortable or generous lifestyle, requiring a larger nest egg. Coast FIRE means your invested savings will grow into your target on their own, so you only need to cover current expenses while they compound. Barista FIRE is similar but assumes part-time work for benefits or income. This calculator centers on the core FIRE number and Coast FIRE; you can adjust your spending assumption to model a leaner or fatter target.

No. It focuses on your portfolio, savings rate, and withdrawal rate, and it does not model income taxes on withdrawals, capital-gains taxes, or the cost of health insurance, which can be significant for early retirees who lose employer coverage. It also does not capture sequence-of-returns risk in detail. Because of these omissions, a real early-retirement plan usually needs a larger cushion than the raw FIRE number suggests. Treat the results as a planning starting point, and factor in taxes, healthcare, and a margin of safety before making major decisions.