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FIRE Calculator (Financial Independence, Retire Early)

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Calculate your FIRE number, retirement date, and monthly income projection. Multi-country support with local market assumptions.

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🔥 FIRE Calculator (Financial Independence, Retire Early)

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4% = 30yr; 3.5% for 40+ yr retirement
Your FIRE Number
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Annual expenses ÷ Safe withdrawal rate
FIRE Number
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Years to FIRE
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FIRE Age
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ℹ️ Based on the Trinity Study 4% rule and compound growth model.

What Is FIRE?

FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is a movement built around aggressive saving — typically 40–70% of income — to accumulate enough invested assets to live off investment returns indefinitely.

The FIRE Number

Your FIRE number is the portfolio size at which you can sustainably withdraw your annual living expenses. Based on the Trinity Study (1998), a 4% annual withdrawal from a diversified portfolio has historically been sustainable for 30 years in 95% of scenarios. Your FIRE Number = Annual Expenses ÷ 0.04 (or Annual Expenses × 25).

📐 FIRE Number Formula

FIRE Number = Annual Expenses ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate
4% SWRFIRE Number = Annual expenses × 25
3.5% SWRFIRE Number = Annual expenses × 28.57
📝 SA Example — R30k/month, 4% SWR: Annual expenses = R360,000
FIRE Number = R360,000 ÷ 0.04 = R9,000,000

How to Use the FIRE Calculator

1

Enter your annual expenses

Input your estimated annual spending in early retirement — not your current income. FIRE planning funds spending, not a salary replacement.

2

Set your savings rate

Enter the percentage of income you currently save. Savings rate is the most powerful variable in FIRE timelines — moving from 20% to 40% can cut a decade from your timeline.

3

Set expected return

7% is the historical average real return for diversified equities. Use 5–6% for a conservative projection including a bond allocation.

4

Review your FIRE number

FIRE Number = Annual Expenses × 25 (the 4% safe withdrawal rule). Reaching this target means your portfolio can theoretically sustain 30+ years of inflation-adjusted withdrawals.

Frequently Asked Questions

The 4% rule comes from the Trinity Study (1998), which found that historically, withdrawing 4% of a 50/50 stock-bond portfolio annually sustained the portfolio for 30 years in 95% of scenarios. For longer retirements (40–50 years), consider 3–3.5%.
Yes, though SA requires adjustments: higher inflation (5–6%), rand risk, and higher equity returns (JSE has historically returned ~12% nominal). Many SA FIRE practitioners invest offshore via their foreign capital allowance and plan for a 3.5% SWR. R9M is a common SA 'Fat FIRE' target for middle-class lifestyles.
Coast FIRE means saving enough early that compound interest will grow your portfolio to your FIRE Number by traditional retirement age — without any further contributions. You can then 'coast' and only cover current expenses. Calculator: Coast FIRE Number = FIRE Number ÷ (1+r)^(years to retirement).
FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The goal is to accumulate enough invested assets to live off investment returns indefinitely — typically defined as 25× annual expenses (the 4% rule). FIRE followers typically save 50–70% of income and invest aggressively in low-cost index funds.
To retire at 40 and withdraw $50,000/year: you need $1.25 million (25× expenses). Because your retirement could last 50+ years, many FIRE planners use a 3–3.5% withdrawal rate, requiring $1.43M–$1.67M. Healthcare costs before Medicare eligibility at 65 are a critical FIRE variable often underestimated.
Lean FIRE: retiring on a frugal budget (under $40K/year). Fat FIRE: retiring with a comfortable budget ($100K+/year). Barista FIRE: semi-retirement with part-time work covering expenses. Coast FIRE: having enough invested that you stop contributing but let it grow to full retirement. Each requires a different target number.
⚠️ Disclaimer Estimates only. Not financial or legal advice.

Sources & Methodology

Calculations are based on the most current publicly available data from authoritative government and industry sources: