Coast FIRE Calculator

Coast FIRE is the point where you have enough invested that, without adding another dollar, compound growth alone will carry your portfolio to your full FIRE (retirement) number by the time you retire. Once you hit it, you only need to earn enough to cover current expenses — retirement is already handled.

First find your FIRE number (annual retirement spending divided by your withdrawal rate — 4% means 25× expenses). Then discount that back to today using your expected real return and years to retirement. The result is the amount you would need invested right now to coast the rest of the way.

Regular FIRE means having the full nest egg now so you can stop working entirely. Coast FIRE is a milestone along the way: your retirement is funded by future growth, but you still work to pay today's bills. It removes the pressure to keep saving aggressively for retirement.

A common assumption is a 7% real (inflation-adjusted) return for a stock-heavy portfolio, and the 4% safe withdrawal rate (25× annual expenses) for the FIRE number. Conservative planners use 5–6% returns or a 3.5% withdrawal rate. Adjust both to match your own risk tolerance.

You can downshift — work part-time, switch to a lower-paying but more enjoyable job, or simply stop contributing to retirement accounts — as long as you cover your living costs. Your existing investments keep compounding toward your FIRE number on their own.