FIRE calculator: when can you stop working?
Financial independence is often defined as 25 times your annual spending, based on the 4 % rule. Enter your spending, your savings and your monthly rate to see how many years of saving it takes to get there.
Financial independence
in 25 years
Target $750,000: 25 times $30,000 of annual spending.
Fine-tune in the full simulator →How the calculation works
The target is your annual spending multiplied by 25. Starting from your current savings, the monthly savings and the expected return are added year by year until the balance reaches that target; the year in which it does is the answer.
If the balance has not reached the target after 60 years, the calculator says so and shows how close it gets. In that case raise the monthly savings, lower the spending or accept a longer horizon.
The 4 % rule is a rule of thumb from historical US market data, not a guarantee. Many people plan with 28 to 33 times their spending for retirements of forty years or more.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 4 % rule?
It suggests that a portfolio can sustain a withdrawal of 4 % of its starting value per year, adjusted for inflation, for at least thirty years. The inverse of 4 % is 25, which is where the target multiple comes from.
Is 25 times my spending safe?
It is a rule of thumb derived from historical US data, and it assumes a long-term equity-heavy portfolio. Longer retirements, higher costs and lower expected returns call for a larger multiple; 28 to 33 times is a common margin of safety.
Does the calculator account for inflation?
Not directly. Enter a real return (approximately return minus inflation; exactly (1 + r)/(1 + i) − 1, so 3.92 % rather than 4 % at 6 % and 2 %) to keep the target in today's money, and remember that your spending will rise with prices over the years.