Does Coast FIRE mean I can quit my job?

Usually, no. Coast FIRE means you may be able to reduce retirement contributions while continuing to cover living expenses through work or another income source.

How is Coast FIRE different from Barista FIRE?

Coast FIRE focuses on reducing or stopping contributions while investments grow. Barista FIRE includes part-time income to help cover expenses.

Does the calculator include a sequence-of-returns stress test?

Yes. It includes a basic simulation of different return paths. The results are educational illustrations, not forecasts or historical backtests.

When can I stop saving for retirement?

The calculator can estimate whether your current portfolio may reach a future FIRE target under its assumptions. Consider healthcare, emergencies, and other expenses separately.

Why does a lower assumed return raise my Coast FIRE number?

A lower assumed return means less modeled growth over time, so a larger portfolio is needed today to reach the same future target.

What Is a Coast FIRE Number?

A Coast FIRE number is the portfolio you may need today for investments to grow to your full FIRE target by your chosen retirement age, assuming no new contributions and a stated real return.

Results below are educational illustrations under stated assumptions — not forecasts.

Methodology Disclaimer

Which assumptions does this calculator use?

One set of inputs powers every calculator. Changes sync to the URL for easy sharing. Export CSV for your notes (educational only).

Annual spending

Target lifestyle spend in today's dollars

Current portfolio

Annual contributions

Withdrawal rate4.0%

Expected real return5.0%

After inflation (today's dollars)

Return mode

Switch to Nominal to enter pre-inflation returns and set an inflation assumption.

FIRE Number Calculator

Portfolio size needed so a safe withdrawal covers annual spending. Presets are starting points — edit freely.

Core

Annual spending (today’s dollars)

Include housing, food, healthcare, travel, taxes, and fun.

Your FIRE number

$1,500,000

Portfolio multiple

25.0×

Monthly spend

$5,000

Sensitivity — withdrawal rate

Same spending ($60,000). Tap to apply to shared assumptions.

Formula: FIRE = annual spending ÷ withdrawal rate. At 4.0%, you need roughly 25.0× annual spending. Educational estimate — not advice. Methodology.

What does the Coast FIRE calculator show?

It estimates the portfolio you may need now for growth alone to reach your full FIRE target by your chosen retirement age.

Nest egg that can grow — with no further contributions — to full FIRE by a traditional retirement age. Then you can stop aggressively saving.

Building

Current age

Traditional retirement age

Horizon for full FIRE if you stop saving after Coast.

Coast number (today)

$271,935

Full FIRE number

$1,500,000

Shortfall to coast

$121,935

At retirement if you stop now

$827,402

You need about $121,935 more invested to hit your coast number. Once there, growth alone for 35 years is modeled to reach full FIRE ($1,500,000) by age 65. With zero new savings, current assets alone would take roughly 12.2 years to reach the coast number.

Formula: coast = FIRE ÷ (1 + r)^years. Coast FIRE means you could stop saving — not that early retirement is funded yet. Educational only.

Sensitivity — real return

Coast number for full FIRE $1,500,000 by age 65. Lower r raises today's bar.

Coast FIRE by age

Full FIRE $1,500,000 by age 65. Primary r = 5.0%; stress column at 4.0%. Educational only.

Age	Years until retirement	Coast number at 5% real return	Coast number at 4% real return
25	40	$213,069	$312,434
30near you	35	$271,935	$380,123
35	30	$347,066	$462,478
40	25	$442,954	$562,675
45	20	$565,334	$684,580
50	15	$721,526	$832,897
55	10	$920,870	$1,013,346

Formula: coast = FIRE ÷ (1+r)^years. Not early retirement funding. Sequence risk is not in this table — use the stress test below.

The main calculators assume a smooth return every year. Markets bounce. This stress test runs 1,000 random paths with the same average real return and a fixed volatility, then shows how often terminal wealth meets Full FIRE under a simple definition.

Volatility (illustrative)

Free1,000 paths · success rate · p10/p50/p90 · stays freeComing Pro5,000+ paths, regimes, historical engines (planned)See Pro

Success rate

13%

132 / 1,000 paths ≥ target

p10 terminal

$185,317

Lower tail (illustrative)

Median terminal

$594,087

p50 of simulated endings

p90 terminal

$1,685,316

Upper tail (illustrative)

Sample paths (worst / median / best by terminal)

Terminal wealth distribution

Model: independent annual shocks r = 5.0% ± σ·Z (Z standard normal), end-of-year contributions, seed 42 for reproducibility. Mean return 5.0%, σ 15.0%, horizon 35 years, 1,000 paths. Not historical backtesting, not tax-aware, not advice. Details: Methodology · Approach.

Does this calculator use historical returns?

Data gate

No. Historical scenarios are unavailable because the source data has not been independently verified.

Historical scenarios are unavailable until the source data is independently verified.

Production historical results remain disabled until the submitted series can be independently reproduced from a documented source, transformation method, coverage, and checksum.

Historical scenarios are not future probabilities. See the methodology for the data and calculation limits.

Loading calculators…

Ways a plan can miss

The numbers above are illustrations under stated assumptions. These six gaps are common reasons a tidy multiple does not hold up in life. Read the methodology and disclaimer.

HealthcareWatch item
Premiums, deductibles, and the years before Medicare are outside the simple FIRE multiple.
Healthcare before Medicare
HousingWatch item
Rent, insurance, maintenance, and location can move spending more than the withdrawal-rate nickname.
Budget and lifestyle notes
Sequence of returnsWatch item
A coast number is a decades-long compounding bet. If real returns run below the assumed rate across a 20–30 year runway, the portfolio can land far short of the full FIRE target — re-run the number at 3%, 4%, and 5% real to see the spread.
Sequence-risk guide
TaxesWatch item
These tools illustrate pre-tax planning math. Account types and later withdrawals can raise the cash you need.
IRS Publication 590-A
LongevityWatch item
A longer retirement needs more years of spending than a 30-year historical rule of thumb.
SSA delayed retirement
LifestyleWatch item
Coast plans assume you keep working to cover spending. A job loss, health issue, or forced career break turns “no more saving needed” into “no income at all” — keep an emergency fund outside the coast math.
Lean / Regular / Fat examples

How does Coast FIRE work?

Coast FIRE asks a different question than classic FIRE: do you already have enough invested that, with no further contributions, compound growth may reach full FIRE by a traditional retirement age?

If yes, you might stop aggressive saving (or save only for near-term goals) while still working for lifestyle, purpose, or benefits. Coast FIRE is not permission to stop working tomorrow.

The coast number is essentially a discounted full FIRE target: the longer the runway and the higher the assumed real return, the smaller the nest egg you need today.

What is the Coast FIRE formula?

The calculator estimates today's Coast FIRE target by dividing the full FIRE target by (1 + real return) raised to the years remaining.

Coast number ≈ Full FIRE ÷ (1 + r)^n

T = full FIRE target
r = real return
n = years until traditional retirement age

Example: $1.5M full FIRE, 20 years runway, 5% real

For example, a $1,500,000 full FIRE target, 20 years until retirement, and an assumed 5% real return gives an estimated Coast FIRE number of about $565,000. This is an illustration under those assumptions, not a forecast.

When can Coast FIRE help with planning?

You want to know when aggressive saving can slow without abandoning long-term FI.
You are comparing shortfall vs surplus under conservative return assumptions.
You are planning a “work optional later, not unemployed today” path.

What are the limitations of Coast FIRE calculations?

Not early retirement — coasters usually still need earned income for years.
Healthcare, emergency funds, and debt plans still matter.
Constant real returns are not guaranteed; use return sensitivity, age tables, and the free sequence stress test for ranges.

Related guides & tools

Coast FIRE calculator: common questions

What is a Coast FIRE number?: It is the portfolio you may need today for investments to grow to your full FIRE target by a chosen retirement age, assuming no further contributions and a stated real return.
Does Coast FIRE mean I can quit my job?: Usually, no. Coast FIRE means you may be able to reduce retirement contributions while continuing to cover living expenses through work or another income source.
How is Coast FIRE different from Barista FIRE?: Coast FIRE focuses on reducing or stopping contributions while investments grow. Barista FIRE includes part-time income to help cover expenses.
Does the calculator include a sequence-of-returns stress test?: Yes. It includes a basic simulation of different return paths. The results are educational illustrations, not forecasts or historical backtests.
When can I stop saving for retirement?: The calculator can estimate whether your current portfolio may reach a future FIRE target under its assumptions. Consider healthcare, emergencies, and other expenses separately.
Why does a lower assumed return raise my Coast FIRE number?: A lower assumed return means less modeled growth over time, so a larger portfolio is needed today to reach the same future target.

Educational illustration only — not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Full disclaimer.

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