Coast FIRE calculator

Find out how much you need invested today so that growth alone, with nothing more added, reaches your retirement target on time. Works in any currency, with every amount in today's money.

No sign-up, nothing saved.

How old you are now.

years

The age from which you want to live off your investments.

years

What your investments for retirement are worth now. Every amount uses the currency you pick here.

Optional. What you add each month from now on, rising with prices.

What you expect to spend once retired, at today's prices. Choose whether that is a month or a year.

How much of the pot you take out in your first year of retirement.

%

The average yearly return you expect, before inflation. Pick a long-run average below or type your own.

% a year

The yearly price rise you expect. It is taken out of the return, so every amount is in today's money.

% a year
Enter your age, the age you want to retire, your spending in retirement and a withdrawal rate.Your Coast FIRE number appears here as you type.

StockFly tracks what your investments actually return, in any currency, so you can see how close you really are.

Questions, answered

What is Coast FIRE?
The point where the money you have already invested, with nothing more added, grows to what you need for retirement by the age you want to retire. From then on you only have to earn enough to cover what you spend today; growth does the rest.
How is the Coast FIRE number calculated?
First the target: what you will spend in a year of retirement divided by the withdrawal rate. Spending 3,500 a month is 42,000 a year, and at 4% that needs 1,050,000. Then that target is brought back to today at your expected return after inflation. At 7% a year for 30 years, 1,050,000 needs about 138,000 invested today.
What withdrawal rate should I use?
4% is the usual rule of thumb. It comes from a 1994 study of historical US stock and bond returns, which found that taking 4% of the pot in the first year, then raising that amount with inflation, lasted at least 30 years in every period it tested. A longer retirement argues for a lower rate.
How long does the money last?
The 4% rule is built for a retirement of about 30 years: taking out 4% in the first year and raising it with prices lasted at least 30 years in every period of US market history it was tested on. Retire at 60 and that is at least to 90. Take out more than 4% and it may run out sooner in a bad market; take out less and it lasts longer.
Why is everything in today's money?
Because 1,000,000 in thirty years buys far less than 1,000,000 today. Taking inflation out of the return keeps every amount comparable with prices you know, including the yearly spending you entered.
Which return should I use?
Nobody knows future returns, so use a long-run average and see how the answer changes if it comes in lower. The averages under the return field are sourced: the S&P 500 returned about 10.7% a year from 1957 to 2026 with dividends reinvested, and global stocks about 9.1% a year since 1987.
Does it count what I keep saving?
Yes, if you enter a monthly amount. It then shows how long until you reach Coast FIRE, the point from which you could stop saving for retirement. The monthly amount is assumed to rise with prices.
Does it include taxes and fees?
No. Take your fund and broker fees off the return you enter, and remember that withdrawals may be taxed where you live.

That was a projection. To see what your real investments have actually returned, open the live demo, try the compound interest calculator, or read how this calculator works. No account needed for any of them.