FIRE Calculator 2026 — Can You Retire Early?
This free FIRE calculator tells you exactly when you can retire and live off your investments. FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is the strategy of aggressively saving and investing until your portfolio reaches 25–33× your annual expenses — at which point a safe withdrawal rate of 3–4% can cover your living costs indefinitely.
Whether you're pursuing lean FIRE on $30K/year, standard FIRE at $50K, or fat FIRE at $100K+, this calculator models your path based on your real savings rate, current assets, and expected returns. It uses inflation-adjusted (real) numbers so your projections stay in today's dollars.
Your FIRE number = Annual Expenses ÷ Withdrawal Rate. Spending$40,000/yr? You need $1,000,000 at the 4.0% rule. The savings rate is the single biggest lever you control — each extra dollar saved both shrinks the gap and grows faster via compounding.
Formula: FIRE Number = Annual Expenses ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate · Years to FIRE = log(FIRE Number / Current Savings) ÷ log(1 + Real Return)
Your numbers
Anchors the timeline
401(k), IRA, brokerage, HSA — exclude primary residence
Actual take-home pay
The single most important input. Include rent, food, transport, insurance, travel.
After inflation. 4-5% for diversified stocks historically.
4% default (Trinity Study). 3.5% for 40+ year horizons.
Results
Your FIRE Number
$1,000,000
Annual expenses ÷ withdrawal rate. The portfolio size that funds your lifestyle indefinitely.
Years to FIRE
12 years
Assumes steady contributions and the real return you entered.
Remaining to Save
$850,000
The gap between current savings and your FIRE number.
Progress
15.0%
How far you are along the path today. Progress accelerates as compounding kicks in.
Savings Projection
Scenario Comparison
How different return rates affect your timeline
| Return Rate | FIRE Number | Years to FIRE | Age at FIRE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% | $1,000,000 | 14 yrs | 46 |
| 7%(current) | $1,000,000 | 12 yrs | 44 |
| 9% | $1,000,000 | 11 yrs | 43 |
How to use this calculator
Current age — Your age today. This anchors the timeline so you can see your age at FIRE. Starting at 25 vs 35 can mean a 10+ year difference in retirement date, even with the same savings rate.
Current invested assets — The total value of your investment accounts: 401(k), IRA, Roth, brokerage, HSA. Do not include your primary residence, emergency fund, or cars — only assets that generate returns and can be drawn down in retirement.
Annual expenses — What you spend per year in today's dollars. This is the single most important input: it determines both your FIRE number (expenses × 25) and your savings rate. Track this carefully for at least 3 months to get an accurate number.
Expected real return — Your after-inflation annual return. The S&P 500 has returned ~7% real historically, but a diversified portfolio with bonds may return 4–5%. Use a conservative number — overestimating returns is the #1 FIRE planning mistake.
Safe withdrawal rate — The percentage of your portfolio you'll withdraw in year one of retirement. 4% is the classic rule (Trinity Study). For retirements longer than 30 years, consider 3.5% or even 3% for extra safety. See our SWR calculator for Monte Carlo simulation.
Real-world examples
Chloe, 32, standard FIRE path
Chloe is a 32-year-old product manager earning $140,000 after tax with $180,000 invested. She spends $48,000 per year and saves the rest — a 66% savings rate. Her FIRE number = $48,000 × 25 = $1.2M. At a 5% real return and $92,000 annual contributions, she hits FIRE in approximately 9 years, at age 41.
Derek, 40, coast FIRE
Derek is 40, has $420,000 invested, and spends $55,000/year. Full FIRE would require$1.375M. At 5% real return, $420,000 grows to about $1.11M over 20 years even with zero further contributions — short of the target but close. To hit coast-FIRE status, he needs about $520,000 before he can stop contributing.
The $500/month difference
Take two 35-year-olds with identical $150,000 portfolios and $50,000 annual expenses (FIRE number: $1.43M at 3.5% SWR, 5% real return). Chloe saves $2,000/month and reaches FIRE in about 21 years, at age 56. Derek saves $2,500/month — only $500 more — and hits it in roughly 18.5 years, at age 53.5. That marginal $500/month buys back 2.5 years of life.
Formula & Methodology
FIRE number formula
Example: $40,000 ÷ 0.04 = $1,000,000. At 3.5% SWR: $40,000 ÷ 0.035 = $1,142,857.
Years to FIRE calculation
This assumes constant annual contributions. Actual projections use year-by-year compounding with contributions, which gives more accurate results for high savings rates.
Assumptions & limitations
- Returns are assumed constant each year. Real markets fluctuate significantly — see our SWR calculator for Monte Carlo simulation.
- Taxes are not modeled. Withdrawals from traditional accounts are taxed as income; Roth withdrawals are tax-free.
- Healthcare costs before Medicare (age 65) are a major gap in most FIRE plans. Budget $15–20K/year for a couple.
- Social Security is not included. Benefits starting at 62–70 can significantly reduce the portfolio needed.
Data sources
- 4% rule: Trinity Study (Cooley, Hubbard, Walz, 1998), updated through 2024
- S&P 500 real returns: ~7% (1926–2024, CRSP/S&P data)
- Savings rate to years-to-FIRE mapping: based on the "Shockingly Simple Math" (MMM, 2012)