Coast FIRE Calculator

The earlier you start, the less you need. This table shows how much you would need invested today to reach a $1,000,000 FI number by age 65 with no further contributions. A $1,000,000 FI number supports about $40,000 a year of spending at a 4% withdrawal rate.

Dropping the assumed return from 7% to 5% roughly doubles the amount a 25- or 30-year-old needs to coast, because the gap compounds over every remaining year. The shorter your runway, the smaller the swing, but the larger the absolute number. If you are close to your Coast FIRE number at 7%, test 5% or 6% before you stop contributing.

First, the calculator finds your full FI number: annual spending × 25, which is the same as dividing spending by a 4% withdrawal rate. Then it discounts that number back to today:

Coast FIRE number = FI number ÷ (1 + real return)^{years until retirement}

If your current investments are at or above that number, you are already coasting. The chart also projects your balance with your monthly contributions, compounded monthly, against your FI target. To change the withdrawal rate, or to see the date you would reach full FI, use the FIRE calculator to calculate your full FIRE number.

You enter spending in today's dollars, so the return should be after inflation too. A real return is roughly the nominal return minus inflation: 10% growth with 3% inflation is about 7% real (more precisely 1.10 ÷ 1.03 − 1, or 6.8%). Using a real return keeps the Coast FIRE number, the FI number and the chart in today's dollars. Entering a nominal return such as 10% would make your Coast FIRE number look much smaller than it really is.

• Taxes and fees. Spending is treated as the amount you will withdraw. If you will owe tax on withdrawals, or pay fund fees, your real FI number is higher.
• Sequence-of-returns risk. The math assumes the same return every year. A bad decade just before retirement can leave you short even if the average works out.
• Social Security and pensions. Any guaranteed income later in life lowers the portfolio you need, so this calculator may overstate your number. See retirement withdrawal strategies for how drawdown works in practice.
• Earned income while coasting. Coasting only works if work still covers all of your current spending. Spending from the portfolio before retirement breaks the math.

A free ChooseFI FI plan can model Social Security, debt payoff and changing expenses when you are ready for more detail.

Say you are 35, spend $4,000 a month ($48,000 a year) and want to be financially independent by 65.

1. Full FI number: $48,000 × 25 = $1,200,000.
2. Years of growth: 65 − 35 = 30.
3. Coast FIRE number at 7% real: $1,200,000 ÷ 1.07³⁰ ≈ $157,600. At 5% real it is about $277,700.
4. If you have $50,000 invested, it grows to about $380,600 by 65 at 7% with no new money. That is well short of $1,200,000, so you are not coasting yet.

The target also moves as you wait. With 25 years left (age 40) the 7% Coast FIRE number is about $221,100, and with 20 years left (age 45) it is about $310,100. Your contributions have to outrun that rising line before you can stop. To see how long that takes with your own savings, enter your numbers in the calculator above.

Coasting is a choice, not a finish line. Reaching your Coast FIRE number means saving for retirement becomes optional, which opens up a lower-stress job, part-time work or a career break. Many people who reach it keep investing anyway to retire earlier or to build a margin of safety.

In ChooseFI episode 538, the Coast FI Masterclass, Jess and Corey of The Fioneers explain why a longer time horizon needs a smaller balance and how they think about coasting. If you have been saving steadily for years, the coasting accumulator guide helps you check whether you are closer to Coast FI, Barista FIRE or full FI than you think.

Save this scenario. Use Save scenario above to keep it in a free ChooseFI FI plan, track when you will hit Coast FI, and model Social Security, debt payoff and changing expenses.

Learn the strategy. Read what is Coast FIRE for the full breakdown, real-world examples and common mistakes. If you plan to work part-time once you coast, the Barista FIRE guide covers bridging the gap with flexible income.

Check the other numbers. Not sure about your full FI number yet? Calculate your full FIRE number first. To see what a lump sum grows to on its own, project the future value of your investments.