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FIRE Calculator

Work out the portfolio and time needed to reach financial independence at your savings rate.

About FIRE Calculator

The FIRE number is simply annual spending divided by the withdrawal rate, so a 4% rate means 25 times spending. The time to reach it comes from solving the future-value equation for the existing portfolio plus an annual savings annuity. Time to independence depends far more on the savings rate than on the return achieved, because savings rate sets both the target and the speed of approach.

Formula

FIRE

FIRE number = annual expenses ÷ safe withdrawal rate; years solve FV of portfolio plus savings

safe withdrawal rate
Share of the portfolio that can be drawn annually, conventionally 4%
FIRE number
Portfolio that funds spending indefinitely

Worked example

With the default values below, FIRE Calculator returns Years to Financial Independence of 18.5. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Annual spending in retirementminimum 0
40,000
Safe withdrawal rateaccepts 0–100 %
4 %
Current invested portfoliominimum 0
120,000
Amount saved each yearminimum 0
24,000
Expected real returnaccepts 0.1–20 %
5 %

Results

Years to Financial Independence
18.5 years
Portfolio Needed
$1,000,000.00
Amount Still to Accumulate
$880,000.00
Progress Toward the Target
12.0%
Monthly Income the Portfolio Would Support
$3,333.33

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2FIRE
  3. 3Years to Financial Independence= 18.5 years
  4. 4Portfolio Needed= 1,000,000.00
  5. 5Amount Still to Accumulate= 880,000.00
  6. 6Progress Toward the Target= 12.0
  7. 7Monthly Income the Portfolio Would Support= 3,333.33

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is FIRE calculated?

FIRE number = annual expenses ÷ safe withdrawal rate; years solve FV of portfolio plus savings The FIRE number is simply annual spending divided by the withdrawal rate, so a 4% rate means 25 times spending. The time to reach it comes from solving the future-value equation for the existing portfolio plus an annual savings annuity.

Why does FIRE matter?

Time to independence depends far more on the savings rate than on the return achieved, because savings rate sets both the target and the speed of approach.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Annual spending in retirement, Safe withdrawal rate, Current invested portfolio, Amount saved each year, Expected real return. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

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FIRE Calculator – Calculate Years to Financial Independence