How much do you need to retire?

Your FIRE number is your annual spending divided by your withdrawal rate — 25× spending at the classic 4%. Change any figure and the number, the date and the odds all update as you type.

Your FIRE number

$1,250,000

$50,000/yr ÷ 4% = 25× your annual spending

The same spending at other withdrawal rates
Withdrawal rateYou would needMultiple of spending
3%$1,666,66733×
3.5%$1,428,57129×
4% · yours$1,250,00025×
5%$1,000,00020×

You reach it at

Age 54

≈ 2045 · in ~19 yrs

Money lasts to 95

80%

of 1,000 simulations

$0$1M$2M$3Mage 40age 50age 60age 70FIRE number · $1.3Mretire 54worst 10% runs dry ~76

1,000 simulated futures · 7% real return, 15% volatility · drawn down to age 95

Save this plan — freeRuns in your browser · nothing is stored until you sign up

The formula, in full

FIRE number = annual spending ÷ safe withdrawal rate. That is the whole thing. Spending $50,000 a year at a 4% withdrawal rate needs $1,250,000, because 4% of $1.25M is exactly $50,000. Flip the rate to 3% and the same life costs $1,666,667 — a third more, for a single assumption most calculators bury.

Your spending drives it, not your salary

Income decides how fast you get there; spending decides where “there” is. Two people earning the same can have FIRE numbers a million dollars apart purely because one plans to live on $40,000 and the other on $80,000. It is worth spending real effort on that one number — every other input matters less.

Why the withdrawal rate is the argument

The 4% rule comes from the Trinity study, which tested roughly 30-year retirements. Retiring at 40 can mean funding 50 years or more, and the same rate is doing a harder job over that span — which is why many early retirees plan at 3% to 3.5% instead. The simulation above does not assume the rule holds; it draws 1,000 market paths and reports how often the money actually lasted. The full method is public.

Beyond a one-time estimate

A number is a target. The hard part is hitting it.

Save the plan and Fire Horizon re-checks your number against your real accounts — every day, free.

Runs on your real money

Link a brokerage with Plaid or drop in a CSV, and this exact chart tracks your actual balances — updating as markets move and you invest. No more re-typing estimates.

Tells you if you’re on track

Your Readiness score re-runs this Monte Carlo on your real net worth and answers what matters: on track for your age, will it last, is your emergency fund covered.

Your whole net worth, in one place

Investments, cash, property and debts together — with a savings rate pulled from your real deposits and your dividend income counted. All free.

Same math here and inside — every formula is hand-checkable on the methodology page.

FIRE number questions

What is a FIRE number?
Your FIRE number is the portfolio value at which your investments can cover your spending indefinitely. It is your annual retirement spending divided by your safe withdrawal rate — so at a 4% withdrawal rate, 25 times what you plan to spend each year.
How do I calculate my FIRE number?
Take your expected annual spending in retirement and divide by your safe withdrawal rate. $50,000 a year at 4% is $50,000 ÷ 0.04 = $1,250,000. At a more conservative 3.5% the same spending needs $1,428,571, and at 3% it needs $1,666,667 — which is why the rate you assume matters as much as the spending figure.
How much do I need to retire?
It depends almost entirely on what you spend, not what you earn. Two people on identical salaries can have FIRE numbers a million dollars apart. Enter your real expected retirement spending above and the number updates instantly — that single input drives everything.
Is the 25x rule accurate?
It is a good starting point, drawn from the Trinity study, but it assumes a roughly 30-year retirement. Retire at 40 and you may be funding 50+ years, where a lower withdrawal rate — and therefore a bigger multiple, 28× to 33× — is the more careful assumption. The table above shows what each rate costs you.
Should I use 3%, 3.5% or 4%?
Longer retirements argue for lower rates. A common approach is 4% for a traditional-length retirement, 3.5% for an early one, and 3% if you want a wide margin or plan to retire very young. There is no single right answer, which is exactly why this page shows all of them side by side.
Does my FIRE number include my house?
Usually not. The number is the portfolio that generates income, and a home you live in does not pay you anything. What matters is that your spending figure includes housing costs — rent, or the taxes, insurance and upkeep you will still pay on a paid-off house.

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Not financial advice — projections are estimates based on your assumptions