FIRE Calculator
Find out exactly when you can reach Financial Independence and Retire Early. Enter your income, spending, and investments to see your personal FIRE number and retirement timeline — with full support for Canadian and US accounts.
| Age | Annual Income | Annual Savings | Net Worth | FIRE Number |
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What Is the FIRE Number?
Your FIRE number is the total invested assets you need to accumulate so that investment returns cover your living expenses for the rest of your life — without ever needing to work again. It is calculated using the 4% Rule, which comes from the Trinity Study, a landmark 1998 analysis of historical US market returns.
At a 4% safe withdrawal rate, this simplifies to 25 times your annual retirement spending — known as the Rule of 25. If you plan to spend $50,000 per year in retirement, your FIRE number is $1,250,000. Government benefits like CPP, OAS, or Social Security reduce how much your portfolio needs to cover, lowering your FIRE number significantly.
How This FIRE Retirement Calculator Works
This FIRE retirement calculator simulates your net worth year by year from today until your graph end age. Each year during your working life, it adds your annual savings (income minus spending) plus any employer match contribution, then applies your weighted average investment return across your asset allocation. The year your net worth crosses the FIRE number line is your FIRE age.
After retirement, the calculator switches to withdrawal mode: net worth continues to grow by the investment return, minus your annual retirement spending. The yearly finances table shows this full trajectory year by year so you can see exactly how your finances evolve before and after FIRE.
Looking for a different milestone — finding how much you need today so compound growth handles retirement without further contributions? Use the Coast FIRE Calculator.
How to Use the FIRE Calculator — Step by Step
Step 1 — Enter your income and spending
Fill in your post-tax annual income, your current annual spending, and your planned spending in retirement. The difference between income and current spending is your annual savings rate — the primary driver of your FIRE timeline. Increasing your savings rate even modestly can bring your FIRE date years earlier.
Step 2 — Set your asset allocation
Distribute your invested assets across stocks, bonds, cash, and other asset classes. The four allocation percentages must total 100%. Set the expected annual return for each class — the calculator weights these by allocation to produce your blended portfolio return. A common starting point for FIRE planners is 90% stocks and 10% cash with a 7-8% blended return.
Step 3 — Review your FIRE age and yearly table
After clicking Calculate, the chart shows your net worth line growing until it crosses the red FIRE number line. The yearly finances table breaks down income, savings, and net worth for every year, so you can see exactly when the crossover happens and how your portfolio behaves in retirement withdrawal mode.
For Canadian Users — RRSP, TFSA, CPP and OAS
Switch the toggle to Canada to update the calculator fields for Canadian accounts. Here is how to fill in the key fields:
Enter the combined total of your RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered investment accounts. Do not include your primary residence unless you plan to sell it at retirement.
Enter your estimated combined monthly Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefit. A Canadian with a full work history typically receives $1,500-2,000 per month combined. This reduces how much your portfolio needs to generate, directly lowering your FIRE number. Log in to My Service Canada for a personalized CPP estimate.
The calculator sets inflation to 2.5% when you switch to Canada mode, reflecting the Bank of Canada target. Adjust if you prefer a different assumption.
If your employer offers an RRSP matching program, enter the match rate and cap in the Advanced section. This contribution is free money that accelerates your path to FIRE.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your FIRE number is the total portfolio you need so investment returns cover all your living expenses — permanently. Divide your expected annual retirement spending by your safe withdrawal rate (typically 4%). If you plan to spend $60,000 per year, your FIRE number is $1,500,000. Government benefits like CPP, OAS, or Social Security reduce the portion your portfolio needs to cover, lowering the number.
The 4% rule comes from the Trinity Study (1998), which analyzed US market returns from 1926 to 1995. It found that retirees could withdraw 4% of their initial portfolio annually — adjusted for inflation — and have a near-100% chance of their money lasting 30 years with a balanced stock-bond portfolio. For early retirees planning a 40-50 year retirement, many FIRE planners use a more conservative 3.5% withdrawal rate.
At a 4% withdrawal rate, you need 25 times your annual retirement spending from your own portfolio. If you plan to spend $70,000 per year and receive a combined $18,000 from CPP and OAS, your portfolio only needs to cover $52,000 — making your FIRE number $1,300,000. Switch the calculator to Canada mode and enter your specific numbers for a personalized result.
FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) means accumulating enough to stop working entirely — your portfolio generates all the income you need. Coast FIRE is an earlier milestone: you have invested enough that compound growth alone will grow your portfolio to your FIRE number by retirement, but you still need to work to cover current living expenses. Coast FIRE can be reached years or decades before full FIRE. Use the free Coast FIRE Calculator to find your Coast FIRE number.
A higher stock allocation typically produces a higher blended return, which grows your net worth faster and brings your FIRE date earlier. However, higher equity allocations also mean more short-term volatility. Most FIRE planners hold 80-100% equities during the accumulation phase, then gradually shift toward bonds as they approach and enter retirement to reduce sequence-of-returns risk.
CPP and OAS are guaranteed income streams in retirement that reduce how much your portfolio needs to generate each year. If you plan to spend $70,000 per year and receive $18,000 from CPP and OAS, your portfolio only needs to cover $52,000. At 4% withdrawal, this reduces your FIRE number from $1,750,000 to $1,300,000 — a reduction of $450,000. Enter your combined monthly CPP and OAS estimate in the calculator after switching to Canada mode.
The standard 4% rate was designed for a 30-year retirement. If you retire at 40 and plan to live until 90, you have a 50-year retirement — longer than the Trinity Study modeled. Many early retirees use 3.5% or 3.25% to account for this. Adjust the safe withdrawal rate slider in this FIRE calculator to see how different rates change your FIRE number and retirement timeline.
These are FIRE targets based on retirement lifestyle. Lean FIRE means a frugal retirement under $40,000 per year. Regular FIRE targets a comfortable lifestyle of $50,000-80,000 per year. Fat FIRE means a more luxurious retirement above $100,000 per year. This calculator works for all three — enter your target retirement spending and it calculates the corresponding FIRE number and timeline.