Home › FIRE Calculator
FIRE Calculator
Enter what you spend in a year, what you have invested and what you add each month. You get the amount that makes work optional and the age you reach it.
Example
Spending $40,000 a year at a 4% withdrawal rate gives a FIRE number of $1,000,000. Starting from $50,000 and investing $1,500 a month at a 5% real return, you get there in 24 years 4 months, at age 54.
How the fire calculator works
FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early. Your FIRE number is the amount of investments that can pay for your spending indefinitely: FIRE number = yearly spending / withdrawal rate. At 4%, that is 25 times your yearly spending.
The calculator then grows your current investments month by month, adding your contribution, until the balance reaches that number. The return you enter is after inflation, so every figure is in today’s money.
Spending drives the result twice. Lower spending shrinks the target and leaves more to invest, which is why the savings rate matters more than income.
Common questions
Is the 4% rule safe for early retirement?
It was derived from 30-year retirements in US market history. Someone retiring at 40 may need their money to last 50 years, so many early retirees plan with 3% to 3.5%, or stay flexible about spending in bad years.
What return should I enter?
Enter a return after inflation. Diversified share portfolios have often delivered 4% to 7% a year above inflation over long periods, with long weak stretches along the way. Lower figures give a safer plan.
Does this include pensions or state benefits?
No. If you expect other income in retirement, subtract it from your yearly spending before entering it.