How much money do I need to retire?

Using the 4% rule, you need 25 times your annual expenses. If you spend $40,000 per year, you need $1,000,000. If you spend $60,000, you need $1,500,000. This amount allows you to withdraw 4% annually without running out of money over a 30-year retirement.

What is FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)?

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It's a strategy of aggressive saving and investing (typically 50-70% of income) to accumulate enough wealth to retire decades before the traditional age of 65. Variants include Lean FIRE (minimal expenses, ~$25-40k/year), Fat FIRE (luxurious lifestyle, $100k+/year), Barista FIRE (part-time work supplements investments), and Coast FIRE (stop saving and let compound growth reach your target).

The 4% rule states that you can withdraw 4% of your investment portfolio in your first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation each year, and historically your money will last at least 30 years. This means your retirement number is 25 times your annual expenses. It's based on the 1998 Trinity Study which backtested withdrawal rates against historical market data from 1926 onward.

Coast FIRE is the point where you have enough invested that compound growth alone will carry you to your retirement number without saving another dollar. You still work to cover current living expenses, but you no longer need to save for retirement. For example, a 25-year-old with $67,000 invested at 7% real returns will have $1,000,000 by age 65 without any additional contributions.

How do I calculate my FIRE number?

Your FIRE number equals your expected annual expenses in retirement divided by your safe withdrawal rate (typically 4%). So FIRE number = annual expenses × 25. For Lean FIRE, use minimal expenses ($25-40k). For Fat FIRE, use your desired luxury spending ($100k+). For Barista FIRE, subtract your expected part-time income from expenses before multiplying.

When can I retire early?

When you can retire depends on your savings rate, current savings, expected investment returns, and annual expenses. At a 50% savings rate with 7% real returns, you can typically retire in about 17 years. At a 70% savings rate, it drops to about 8 years. Use a retirement calculator to model your specific situation with Monte Carlo simulations showing the range of possible outcomes.

How accurate is this retirement calculator?

This retirement calculator uses historically-backed assumptions including the 4% safe withdrawal rate from the Trinity Study, average S&P 500 returns, and Monte Carlo simulations with 1,000 randomized market scenarios. While no calculator can predict the future, Monte Carlo analysis shows you the range of likely outcomes rather than a single optimistic projection.

What is the difference between Lean FIRE and Fat FIRE?

Lean FIRE means retiring with minimal expenses (typically $25,000-$40,000 per year), requiring a smaller nest egg but a frugal lifestyle. Fat FIRE means retiring with a generous lifestyle ($100,000+ per year in spending), requiring a much larger portfolio but allowing full financial freedom without compromise. Regular FIRE falls in between, maintaining your current standard of living.

When Can I Retire? Free FIRE Calculator

What is FIRE?

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It's a movement focused on aggressive saving and investing so you can stop working for money decades before traditional retirement age.

Lean FIRE

Retire with minimal expenses (~$25-40k/year). Requires less savings but demands a frugal lifestyle. Great for minimalists or those in low cost-of-living areas.

Regular FIRE

The standard approach — save 25x your annual expenses (the 4% rule). Maintains your current lifestyle without cutting back significantly.

Fat FIRE

Retire with a luxurious lifestyle (typically $100k+/year in expenses). Requires a much larger nest egg but means no compromises in retirement.

Barista FIRE

Leave your career but work a low-stress part-time job (like a barista). The part-time income covers some expenses, meaning you need less from investments.

Coast FIRE

Save enough early that compound growth will carry you to retirement without any more contributions. You still work, but only to cover current expenses — no more saving needed.

The 4% Rule

The foundational concept: withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually and historically you won't run out of money for 30+ years. That's why FIRE number = 25x expenses.

How This Retirement Calculator Works

Most retirement calculators give you a single number and call it a day. This one is different. Our retirement calculator models five distinct retirement strategies simultaneously, so you can see the full spectrum of possibilities — from the most aggressive early retirement timeline to the most conservative traditional path.

What makes this retirement calculator different

Monte Carlo simulations — Instead of assuming a fixed rate of return, we run 1,000 randomized market scenarios to show you the probability of success, not just the best case.
Multiple FIRE strategies — See results for Lean FIRE, Regular FIRE, Fat FIRE, Barista FIRE, and Coast FIRE all at once, so you can compare timelines and tradeoffs.
Social Security estimation — Optionally include estimated Social Security benefits based on your income to see how they affect your traditional retirement number.
Real returns, not nominal — We subtract inflation from your expected returns so the numbers you see represent real purchasing power.
Completely private — Everything runs in your browser. Your financial data is never sent to a server, never stored, never sold.

The math behind the calculator

The core formula is based on the 4% safe withdrawal rate from the Trinity Study (1998). Your retirement number = annual expenses ÷ withdrawal rate. At a 4% withdrawal rate, that means you need 25 times your annual expenses saved to retire safely. This withdrawal rate has historically sustained portfolios for 30+ years through market crashes, recessions, and periods of high inflation.

For the Monte Carlo simulation, we model annual returns as normally distributed around your expected return with historical standard deviation (~15% for a stock-heavy portfolio). Each of the 1,000 runs uses a different random sequence of returns to simulate the real unpredictability of markets. The chart shows you the 10th percentile (pessimistic), median (most likely), and 90th percentile (optimistic) outcomes.

Who is this retirement calculator for?

Whether you're just starting to think about retirement planning in your 20s, mid-career and wondering "how much do I need to retire?", or close to your target and stress-testing your numbers — this calculator gives you actionable answers. It's especially useful if you're exploring the FIRE movement and want to compare strategies without doing all the math by hand.

Free Retirement Calculator

Personal

Income & Savings

Spending

Market

Portfolio Growth Over Time

FIRE Type Comparison

Spending vs. Savings Breakdown

Monte Carlo Simulation (1,000 runs)