FIRE CALCULATOR
FIRE calculator: how much you need, and when you get there
Enter what you have, what you save and what you’d spend once you stop working. The calculator shows your FIRE number and when your savings reach it, in today’s dollars.
You reach it in about 20.3 years, at 52. You have 12% of it today.
Plan it month by month Free, no account. The planner adds taxes, account access, Social Security, market swings and history.How the FIRE number works
Your FIRE number is the portfolio that covers your yearly spending at your withdrawal rate. Spending $50,000 a year at 4% needs $1,250,000.
FIRE number = yearly spending ÷ withdrawal rate
How long it takes
Savings grow at the return after inflation, and what you save each year is added. With $150,000 saved and $25,000 a year at 5%, the example reaches its number in about 20.3 years.
years = ln((FIRE number + yearly saving ÷ r) ÷ (savings + yearly saving ÷ r)) ÷ ln(1 + r), where r is the return after inflation
Reaching the number once doesn’t guarantee every later year is funded: markets swing, and spending changes. Test that in the planner’s market simulation and its history test since 1928.
Questions
What is a FIRE number?
It is the invested savings that can pay for your yearly spending at a chosen withdrawal rate: spending divided by the rate. At 4%, that is 25 times your yearly spending.
What withdrawal rate should I use?
4% is the classic rule of thumb, from studies of 30-year US retirements. Retiring early can mean 40 years or more, so many people plan with 3% to 3.5%, which is 28 to 33 times spending.
Is this in today’s dollars?
Yes. Spending, savings and the result are in today’s purchasing power, and the return is the return after inflation.
Does it include taxes and Social Security?
No. Include the taxes you’ll pay in your spending, or use the planner, which estimates withdrawal taxes, account access rules, Social Security and health insurance month by month.