Does this account for taxes on withdrawals?

No — this is a pre-tax projection. Depending on which account types your investments sit in, actual withdrawals may be taxed, meaning your real-world FIRE number could need to be somewhat higher than shown here.

What if my freedom score is below 100%?

You have three levers: increase your monthly investment, push back your target retirement age, or reduce your target annual expenses (which also lowers your FIRE number, since it's 25× annual expenses).

Retirement planningWorks worldwide

FIRE Calculator

Discover how long it may take to achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early using wealth projections and inflation-adjusted planning.

Current age25

Retirement age45

Monthly expenses$4,000

Current savings$25,000

Monthly investment$2,000

Expected return (p.a.)8%

Sample value. Enter your own.

Inflation rate (p.a.)3%

Sample value. Enter your own.

Freedom score

60%

Your current plan reaches 60% of your FIRE number by age 45.

Estimated wealth

$1,302,418

FIRE number

$2,167,333

These projections are for illustrative purposes only and do not guarantee actual returns. Market returns are subject to volatility and past performance does not indicate future results. Please consult a certified financial advisor for personalised advice. The FIRE number assumes the 4% withdrawal rule and is based on inflation-adjusted expenses. Actual retirement needs may vary.

Wealth projection

Projected wealth growth over time based on your inputs.

Financial insights

Retirement timeline

Based on your current strategy, you could potentially achieve financial freedom in 20 years.

Inflation impact

Future monthly expenses after inflation may be approximately $7,224.

Wealth optimization

Increasing your monthly investments by even 10–15% can significantly accelerate your path to independence.

FIRE readiness

Your current trajectory gives a 60% freedom score, indicating the progress toward your FIRE goal.

What is a FIRE calculator?

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early — a movement centered on saving and investing aggressively enough to cover your living expenses from investment returns alone, independent of a traditional retirement age. This calculator projects your investment growth against your target "FIRE number" and shows a freedom score: how close your current savings trajectory gets you to that number by your chosen age.

FIRE isn't only about retiring at 35 — for most people it's really about optionality: reaching a savings rate and net worth where working becomes a choice rather than a necessity, whether or not you actually stop working at that point.

How is your FIRE number calculated?

Your FIRE number is based on the widely-used 4% rule — the idea that withdrawing 4% of a well-diversified portfolio annually has historically had a high probability of lasting 30+ years:

FIRE Number = Annual Expenses × 25

Multiplying by 25 is mathematically the same as dividing by 4% — it's the portfolio size at which a 4% withdrawal covers a full year of expenses. This calculator first inflates your current monthly expenses forward to your target retirement age, then multiplies the annualized result by 25 to get your FIRE number, and separately projects your actual investment growth (current savings plus ongoing monthly investments, compounded at your expected return) to calculate your freedom score — what percentage of that FIRE number your current plan reaches.

Key FIRE concepts

The 4% rule

Based on historical U.S. market data (the "Trinity Study"), a 4% initial withdrawal rate, adjusted for inflation each year, has historically survived most 30-year periods — though it's a guideline, not a guarantee, especially for retirements longer than 30 years.

Savings rate over income

Time to FIRE depends far more on what percentage of income you save than on how much you earn — a high earner who spends most of it reaches FIRE later than a moderate earner saving 40-50% of income.

Lean, Fat, and Coast FIRE

Variants exist for different lifestyles: Lean FIRE targets a minimal expense base, Fat FIRE targets a more comfortable one, and Coast FIRE means you've saved enough that compounding alone will reach your number without further contributions — even if you keep working.

Sequence of returns risk

Retiring right before a market downturn is far riskier than retiring right before an upturn, even with an identical average return over time — a real risk this calculator's straight-line projection doesn't capture.

LessonFIRE: Financial Independence, Retire Early — The math behind retiring decades early — and why the real lever is your savings rate, not your salary.
CalculatorRetirement Calculator — The corpus a fixed monthly investment builds by the time you retire.

Common questions

It remains a widely used starting point, though some planners now suggest a more conservative 3.25-3.5% for very long retirements (40+ years) given today's valuations and lower expected bond returns compared to when the original research was done.