FIRE Calculator
The capital that would cover a year of your spending indefinitely, how far off it is, and how long the current pace takes to get there.
Results
What this tool does
Financial independence has a simple arithmetic core: you need enough capital that the share you withdraw each year covers what you spend. Everything else — the arguing about four per cent, the debate over what counts as a safe rate — is about which withdrawal rate to put in the second box. This page does the arithmetic and leaves that judgement to you. It shows the target, how much of it you already have, and how many years of saving at your current rate stand between the two.
Formula
needed principal = annual expenses ÷ withdrawal rate; years = ln((target·r/12 + PMT) ÷ (principal·r/12 + PMT)) ÷ ln(1 + r/12) ÷ 12
Variables
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
ae | What you spend in a year | — |
wr | Safe withdrawal rate | % |
cu | Current savings | — |
ms | Saved each month | — |
r | Return you expect per year | % |
F | The number you need | — |
S | Still to go | — |
C | Of the target already covered | % |
Y | Years at this pace | a |
M | Monthly saving to get there in 10 years | — |
Worked example
- What you spend in a year24,000
- Safe withdrawal rate4 %
- Current savings40,000
- Saved each month800
- Return you expect per year5 %
- The number you need600,000
- Still to go560,000
- Of the target already covered6.7 %
- Years at this pace24.6 a
- Monthly saving to get there in 10 years3440
Limitations
- This is an informational calculator, not personalised financial advice. Rates, fees, taxes and contract conditions vary between institutions and countries.
- The result is an estimate based only on the values you type. Real situations often include factors this calculator does not know about.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the withdrawal rate come from?
From you, not from this page. Four per cent is the figure most often quoted, and it comes from studies of past American market returns over thirty-year retirements — a specific country, a specific period and a specific length of retirement. Whether it suits your country, your costs and a retirement that might last fifty years is a judgement this calculator cannot make for you, which is why the rate is a box you can change rather than a number baked in.
Is the return before or after inflation?
Put in a return after inflation and the answer comes out in today's money, which is the only version that means anything: your target is expressed in what you spend today. If you put in a nominal return, the years will look shorter than they are, because the target you are aiming at will have moved by the time you arrive.