Retirement Calculator
Best for a clear independence date.
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER
When Can I Retire? FIRE Calculator
Estimate when your investments could cover your spending. Try your numbers, compare savings rates, and follow your path year by year.
Start with your numbers. These are illustrative starting values. Enter your invested savings, future spending, and monthly contribution to build your own plan.
How your number is built
You want $48,000 a year for 45 years. All amounts are in today’s dollars.
- If returns were steady every year
- $1,034,344
- Allowing for market ups and downs (your number)
- $1,975,573
- The 4% rule of thumb
- $1,200,000
- First-year withdrawal from your number
- 2.4%
THE LONG VIEW
See the possibility.
All amounts are in today’s dollars. The timeline assumes constant returns after inflation, monthly compounding, and end-of-month contributions that maintain their purchasing power. Your FIRE number allows for market ups and downs in retirement. Excludes taxes and fees. This is a planning illustration, not a forecast or guarantee.
MAKE IT YOURS
The plan behind the number.
Drafts save automatically on this browser and stay separate from your signed-in plan. No account data is used.
A LITTLE WORLD PERSPECTIVE
Household savings around the world
Saving more can bring retirement closer in two ways: you invest more and need less to support your lifestyle. Explore a country’s savings rate or choose your own.
2024 household net saving · % of disposable income
10y 3m
Estimated time to this scenario’s target
- Monthly investment
- $0
- Annual spending
- $48,000
- Portfolio target
- $1,975,573
Holds an implied after-tax income of $48,000 a year fixed: your annual contributions plus retirement spending. Assumes spending today and in retirement is the same and all savings are invested. Applying changes both spending and contributions in your draft.
Selected countries, 2024 historical data. Net saving deducts depreciation; these national aggregates generally include households and nonprofit institutions serving them. Pension and accounting differences mean they are context, not personal targets or predicted retirement dates for those countries. Your implied rate uses the simplified budget above, not the OECD accounting definition. Source: OECD Economic Outlook 118, December 2025 · Annex Table 28.
YOUR PATH, YEAR BY YEAR
End-of-year portfolio breakdown
Follow your contributions, investment growth, and how much of your FIRE number you have reached. All amounts are in today’s dollars.
The target is first reached in 10y 3m. The final row continues contributions and growth through the end of that year. Year 1 means the next 12 months. No retirement withdrawals are deducted.
| End of year | Starting portfolio | Contributions | Growth / loss | Ending portfolio | Of your FIRE number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,200,000 | $0 | $60,000 | $1,260,000 | 63.8% |
| 2 | $1,260,000 | $0 | $63,000 | $1,323,000 | 67.0% |
| 3 | $1,323,000 | $0 | $66,150 | $1,389,150 | 70.3% |
| 4 | $1,389,150 | $0 | $69,458 | $1,458,608 | 73.8% |
| 5 | $1,458,608 | $0 | $72,930 | $1,531,538 | 77.5% |
| 6 | $1,531,538 | $0 | $76,577 | $1,608,115 | 81.4% |
| 7 | $1,608,115 | $0 | $80,406 | $1,688,521 | 85.5% |
| 8 | $1,688,521 | $0 | $84,426 | $1,772,947 | 89.7% |
| 9 | $1,772,947 | $0 | $88,647 | $1,861,594 | 94.2% |
| 10 | $1,861,594 | $0 | $93,080 | $1,954,674 | 98.9% |
| 11 · Target reached | $1,954,674 | $0 | $97,734 | $2,052,407 | 100.0% |
PLAN FOR UNCERTAINTY
Will your money go the distance?
Your plan run through changing markets: you save for 11 years, then spend $48,000 a year for 45 years from your portfolio. Change the assumptions above to test other plans.
Your number lasts in 9 of 10 markets once you have it. Markets move while you save too, so some paths arrive at retirement short of it, which is why the odds here are lower. In real life you would keep saving until you reach it.
Shading: 10th–90th percentiles · line: median · dashed line: retirement. Percentile lines are not individual paths.
Model assumptions & yearly results
Independent lognormal annual returns, calibrated to your real returns and the market ups and downs you chose. Contributions arrive at year-end; retirement spending is withdrawn at year-start in today’s dollars, less any other income. Retirement begins when your savings first reach the FIRE number in the steady projection. Fixed random seed permits consistent comparisons. Excludes taxes, fees, changing spending and extreme events beyond this model. Model probabilities are illustrations, not guarantees.
| Year | 10th percentile | Median | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 |
| 1 | $1,086,633 | $1,255,208 | $1,442,379 |
| 2 | $1,071,499 | $1,303,647 | $1,599,537 |
| 3 | $1,060,362 | $1,368,117 | $1,746,772 |
| 4 | $1,056,208 | $1,412,298 | $1,900,497 |
| 5 | $1,066,601 | $1,475,009 | $2,031,316 |
| 6 | $1,074,853 | $1,538,752 | $2,203,906 |
| 7 | $1,106,800 | $1,602,414 | $2,343,117 |
| 8 | $1,130,566 | $1,678,101 | $2,508,931 |
| 9 | $1,151,217 | $1,765,592 | $2,698,948 |
| 10 | $1,172,294 | $1,831,677 | $2,917,217 |
| 11 | $1,210,488 | $1,903,228 | $3,040,925 |
| 12 | $1,171,411 | $1,940,669 | $3,172,746 |
| 13 | $1,139,526 | $1,953,110 | $3,287,825 |
| 14 | $1,105,602 | $1,964,312 | $3,431,391 |
| 15 | $1,079,332 | $1,976,992 | $3,566,791 |
| 16 | $1,020,444 | $1,985,370 | $3,704,851 |
| 17 | $994,988 | $1,989,917 | $3,857,616 |
| 18 | $960,515 | $2,008,103 | $4,039,040 |
| 19 | $932,565 | $2,028,239 | $4,188,963 |
| 20 | $903,138 | $2,043,470 | $4,371,917 |
| 21 | $882,497 | $2,048,051 | $4,580,799 |
| 22 | $844,574 | $2,091,704 | $4,603,953 |
| 23 | $813,863 | $2,072,471 | $4,748,496 |
| 24 | $796,185 | $2,114,934 | $4,893,588 |
| 25 | $748,517 | $2,127,753 | $5,133,611 |
| 26 | $713,852 | $2,151,689 | $5,352,320 |
| 27 | $691,928 | $2,186,284 | $5,614,477 |
| 28 | $665,180 | $2,191,455 | $5,669,144 |
| 29 | $631,184 | $2,209,622 | $5,779,560 |
| 30 | $589,281 | $2,244,498 | $6,128,973 |
| 31 | $568,033 | $2,276,339 | $6,484,884 |
| 32 | $509,102 | $2,297,999 | $6,612,575 |
| 33 | $468,880 | $2,352,628 | $6,929,986 |
| 34 | $417,468 | $2,354,989 | $7,319,506 |
| 35 | $395,286 | $2,389,050 | $7,466,096 |
| 36 | $354,168 | $2,444,887 | $7,709,917 |
| 37 | $316,281 | $2,473,959 | $7,813,086 |
| 38 | $273,245 | $2,458,038 | $8,017,283 |
| 39 | $225,223 | $2,491,881 | $8,512,356 |
| 40 | $183,298 | $2,502,971 | $8,754,950 |
| 41 | $149,394 | $2,534,299 | $9,279,171 |
| 42 | $109,722 | $2,614,716 | $9,477,996 |
| 43 | $61,530 | $2,587,692 | $9,656,809 |
| 44 | $13,126 | $2,647,767 | $10,291,306 |
| 45 | $0 | $2,673,994 | $10,832,662 |
| 46 | $0 | $2,713,841 | $11,360,921 |
| 47 | $0 | $2,774,153 | $11,818,392 |
| 48 | $0 | $2,774,131 | $12,131,799 |
| 49 | $0 | $2,756,036 | $12,478,945 |
| 50 | $0 | $2,816,525 | $13,039,566 |
| 51 | $0 | $2,838,508 | $13,582,559 |
| 52 | $0 | $2,846,674 | $14,087,236 |
| 53 | $0 | $2,858,680 | $14,529,598 |
| 54 | $0 | $2,868,973 | $14,911,518 |
| 55 | $0 | $2,883,429 | $16,164,451 |
| 56 | $0 | $2,974,389 | $16,422,309 |
UNDERSTAND THE CHANGE
What moves your timeline?
Change an assumption or try a what-if to see what makes a difference.
Your next move starts with a possibility.
Try adding $500 to your monthly contribution.
A FEW POSSIBLE FUTURES
Session comparisons
Keep a draft to revisit without replacing your main plan. Loading one doesn’t change your investments.
A little planning between reps.
No comparisons yet. Try a what-if, give it a name, and keep it here.
How this FIRE estimate works
- Choose Simple or Advanced. Simple answers when you might reach independence in today’s dollars. Advanced builds a nominal year-by-year plan with multiple cash flows.
- In Simple: work out your FIRE number for the spending, other income, legacy, and retirement length you choose, then size it so nine of ten simulated markets last.
- Grow invested savings monthly using the real return you choose while saving, and add the monthly contribution at month end in today’s dollars.
- In Advanced: project each year from your current age to life expectancy with inflation, contribution schedules, lump sums, income streams, and a flat retirement tax gross-up.
- Advanced reports savings at retirement, savings needed, surplus or shortfall, and the extra monthly contribution that would fund the plan, plus a printable schedule.
Worked example
At $40,000 of yearly spending for 40 years of retirement at a 4% real return, your Simple FIRE number is about $1.51 million: $823,000 if returns were steady every year, and more to survive a bad start. Starting with $100,000 and investing $2,000 monthly at a constant 5% real return while saving reaches it in about 25 years.
Assumptions and boundaries
- Simple mode: returns are after inflation, so every amount is in today’s dollars. Savings compound monthly.
- Simple mode: contributions maintain their purchasing power and arrive at month end. Spending is withdrawn at the start of each retirement year.
- Advanced mode: amounts are nominal. Spending and estate inflate at your inflation rate; portfolio withdrawals are grossed up by a single effective tax rate.
- Advanced mode: contribution schedules, lump sums, and income streams are age-keyed. Returns are constant within accumulation and retirement. Caps apply (10 of each stream type).
Important limitation: Neither mode is tax advice or a guarantee. Simple excludes taxes, fees, changing income, and account rules; its markets are random rather than historical. Advanced uses a flat tax rate and constant returns, with no brackets, Roth versus Traditional, RMDs, or fees. Advanced plans are session-only and are not saved to your account.
Sources and review
Methodology and links reviewed . This educational estimate is not financial, tax, legal, investment, or lending advice.
Frequently asked questions
- When can I retire?
- In this calculator, you reach financial independence when your invested portfolio reaches your FIRE number: the amount that funds your yearly spending for the years you choose in most simulated markets. It then estimates how long your savings and monthly investments take to get there. The result is an illustration, not a guaranteed retirement date.
- What is Advanced mode?
- Advanced builds a year-by-year retirement spreadsheet in nominal dollars: ages, inflation, multiple contribution schedules, lump sums, post-retirement income streams, a single effective tax rate, and a printable report. It is session-only and does not replace Simple mode’s FIRE number or Monte Carlo view.
- How does my savings rate affect early retirement?
- At the same after-tax income, saving a larger share both increases your investments and reduces your spending target if you keep that lifestyle in retirement. The country comparison uses this simplified assumption; national household savings rates are context, not personal recommendations.
- What does the end-of-year table show?
- Each row covers 12 months from today and shows starting investments, contributions, growth or loss, ending investments, and the share of your FIRE number reached. The final row completes the year the target is reached, assuming contributions continue; it does not simulate retirement withdrawals.
- What is a FIRE number?
- It is the invested amount that funds your yearly spending, less any other income, for the retirement length you choose. The calculator shows it two ways: the amount that would last if returns were steady every year, and the larger amount that lasts in nine of ten simulated markets, which is the number it uses.
- How long should the money last?
- Retiring at 45 and planning to 95 is 50 years. Longer retirements need more, because the money has more years of bad luck to survive. If you are unsure, plan to a later age than you expect to reach.
- Why use a real return?
- A real return is after inflation, so the projection and spending target remain in today’s purchasing power.
- Is the 4% rule guaranteed?
- No. It is a rule of thumb drawn from historical US data over about 30 years. For longer retirements, or with lower returns, a safe starting rate is usually lower. That is why this calculator works out your number from your own spending, retirement length and returns, and reports the first-year withdrawal rate it implies. Taxes, fees, asset mix, and market sequence can still change outcomes.