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FIRE / Retirement Number Calculator

Find your financial independence target.

How it is calculated

The FIRE number is the portfolio that could pay your yearly spending from withdrawals alone: FIRE number = Annual expenses / (Withdrawal rate / 100). The withdrawal rate is the percentage of the portfolio you plan to take out each year; 4% is the figure most often used as a starting assumption, and it is equivalent to saving 25 times your expenses. The gap is max(0, FIRE number − current savings), never negative. Expenses can be zero but not negative, and the rate must be above zero. Inflation, taxes, investment returns and the length of retirement are not modelled, so treat the result as a target, not a forecast. Amounts are shown in dollars.

Worked example

Yearly expenses are 40,000, the planned withdrawal rate is 4% (0.04) and current savings are 250,000. FIRE number = 40,000 / 0.04 = $1,000,000.00. Gap = 1,000,000 − 250,000 = $750,000.00 still to build. At a stricter 3% rate the target would rise to about 1,333,333.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering the rate as 0.04 instead of 4; it is read as a percentage, so 0.04 would mean a 0.04% rate.
  • Using monthly expenses in the annual field, which gives a target twelve times too small.
  • Basing expenses on your current salary, not on what you will spend in retirement (mortgage paid off, health costs added).
  • Treating the 4% rate as guaranteed safe; a lower rate gives more margin for a longer retirement.
  • Leaving out taxes on withdrawals, so the usable amount is smaller than the target.

Sources

About this calculator

This calculator applies the 4% safe withdrawal rate (also called the 25x rule) from the Trinity Study to estimate the investment portfolio needed to retire and live off withdrawals indefinitely: it multiplies annual spending by 25, the inverse of 4%. A lower withdrawal rate, like 3.5%, produces a larger and more conservative target for anyone worried about market downturns early in retirement.

It's the core calculation behind the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, used by people planning to leave traditional work in their 30s or 40s as well as conventional retirees checking whether their 401(k) or pension savings can support their lifestyle. Entering your current savings also shows the gap still left to save (never below zero).

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Enter the withdrawal rate as a percentage, so 4 for 4%. The FIRE number is simply yearly spending divided by that rate, which assumes your spending and returns stay steady. A lower rate such as 3 raises the target a lot and suits a long retirement. The tool uses spending, not income, so a lower budget shrinks the target twice: you need less and save sooner. Which withdrawal rate feels sensible to you, and why?

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