Retirement & FIRE Calculator: How Much Do I Need?
Divide your yearly retirement spending by your withdrawal rate. Spending $40,000 a year at the 4% rule needs $1,000,000. Starting from $50,000 and saving $20,000 a year at a 5% real return, you'd get there in 24 years.
Use a real return (after inflation), so every figure stays in today's dollars. 5–7% is a common assumption for a stock-heavy portfolio.
Target nest egg
$1,000,000
Years to get there
24
Retirement age
54
Projected savings
| Year | Age | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 35 | $174,327 |
| 10 | 40 | $333,003 |
| 15 | 45 | $535,518 |
| 20 | 50 | $793,984 |
| 24 | 54 | $1,051,295 |
An illustration with a steady return, not financial advice. Real returns vary year to year.
Show the math
- 1
Target nest egg
$40,000.00 ÷ 4% = $1,000,000.00
At a 4% withdrawal rate you take out $40,000.00 a year, 4% of the pot. The 4% rule comes from research on 30-year retirements and US stock and bond returns.
= $1,000,000.00
Read the steps as text
- Target nest egg. $40,000.00 ÷ 4% = $1,000,000.00 At a 4% withdrawal rate you take out $40,000.00 a year, 4% of the pot. The 4% rule comes from research on 30-year retirements and US stock and bond returns.
- Grow the balance one year at a time. Year 1: $50,000.00 × 1.05 + $20,000.00 = $72,500.00 Each year the balance earns 5%, then that year's contributions are added. Use a real (after-inflation) return so the target stays in today's dollars.
- Years until the target is reached. Year 24: $1,051,294.97 ≥ $1,000,000.00
- Retirement age. 30 + 24 = 54
The 4% rule
The 4% rule comes from research (most famously the 1998 Trinity study) on how much a retiree could withdraw from a stock and bond portfolio each year without running out of money over 30 years. Taking 4% in the first year and adjusting for inflation after that survived almost every historical period.
Flipped around, it gives a savings target: yearly spending ÷ 0.04, or 25 times your annual expenses. People retiring early, with 40 or 50 years ahead of them, often use a more cautious 3 to 3.5%, which raises the target to 29 to 33 times expenses.
How the projection works
Each year your balance grows by the expected return, then that year's savings are added. The calculator repeats this until the balance reaches the target. Using a real return (after inflation) means every figure stays in today's dollars, so the target doesn't have to be inflated. Long-run US stock returns have averaged about 6 to 7% a year after inflation, and a balanced portfolio less.
The two biggest levers are how much you save and how much you plan to spend. Cutting yearly spending both shrinks the target and frees up money to save, which is why the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement focuses so heavily on savings rate.
Frequently asked questions
- How much do I need to retire?
- Using the 4% rule, about 25 times your yearly spending. $50,000 a year needs $1.25 million; $30,000 a year needs $750,000. Social Security or a pension reduces how much your savings have to cover.
- Is the 4% rule safe?
- It held up over 30-year periods in historical US data, but it isn't a guarantee. Longer retirements, high fees or a bad run of early returns argue for a lower rate or flexible spending.
- What return should I assume?
- A real (after-inflation) return of 4 to 7% is common for long-term planning, depending on how much of your portfolio is in stocks. Try a few values to see how sensitive your plan is.
- Does this include Social Security?
- Not directly. Subtract any expected Social Security or pension income from your yearly spending before entering it, so the target only covers what your savings need to provide.