US Coast FIRE calculator
Find out if you've reached Coast FIRE — the point where your invested savings will grow into your full retirement target on their own, so you can stop saving for retirement and only need to cover today's expenses.
Your numbers
Enter your return as a real (after-inflation) rate — around 4–5% is a common assumption for a stock-heavy portfolio — so every figure stays in today's money. The withdrawal rate sets your FIRE number (4% means 25× your annual spending).
Not yet at Coast FIRE. You'd need about $231,377.45 invested today — a gap of $81,377.45. Keep contributing until your balance reaches the coast number, then growth alone carries you the rest of the way.
- Years to retirement
- 30
- Current savings grow to
- $648,291.36
Coast FIRE assumes you stop adding to retirement savings but keep covering your own living costs until retirement. It's a milestone, not an end point — investing more still gets you to full FIRE sooner.
What Coast FIRE means
Coast FIRE is the moment your retirement savings become self-sufficient. You've invested enough that, with no further contributions, compound growth alone will carry the balance to your full retirement target by the time you retire. You're not financially independent yet — you still need income to cover today's bills — but you can stop saving for retirement specifically.
How it's calculated
Two numbers define it. Your FIRE number is your annual retirement spending divided by a safe withdrawal rate — at the common 4% rate, that's 25× your annual spend. Your coast number is the amount you'd need invested today so it grows into the FIRE number by retirement: coast number = FIRE number / (1 + r)^years, where r is your expected real (after-inflation) return.
Worked example
You're 30, plan to retire at 60, spend $40,000 a year, and expect a 5% real return. Your FIRE number is $40,000 ÷ 0.04 = $1,000,000. The coast number today is $1,000,000 ÷ 1.05³⁰ ≈ $231,000. If you've already invested $231,000, you can stop contributing — that balance alone should grow past $1,000,000 by 60.
Why it's useful
Coast FIRE reframes the goal from "save aggressively until you're rich" to "front-load saving early, then let time do the work." Reaching it can free you to take a lower-paying but more enjoyable job, go part-time, or simply stop stressing about retirement contributions. The earlier you hit it, the more powerful, because growth has more years to compound.
The cautions
- Real returns aren't guaranteed. A long stretch of poor returns can leave you short — build in a margin and check progress periodically.
- Lifestyle creep. Use a real return so today's spending figure stays valid, and watch that your FIRE number doesn't quietly rise.
- It's not full FIRE. You still need to earn your living costs until retirement. For your time to full independence, use the FIRE calculator.
To project the pot itself, see the retirement calculator.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Coast FIRE?
How is the Coast FIRE number calculated?
Is Coast FIRE the same as being financially independent?
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