What is the 4% rule and the FIRE number?

The 4% safe withdrawal rule states that you can withdraw 4% of your retirement portfolio in the first year, and adjust the amount for inflation each year after, without running out of money. Your FIRE number is 25 times your annual expenses.

How does inflation affect early retirement?

Early retirees spend more years in retirement, meaning inflation has more time to erode purchasing power. A $50,000/year expense will double to $100,000/year in 24 years at 3% inflation, requiring a larger starting nest egg.

Retirement

FIRE Calculator

Plan for Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) and find your real inflation-adjusted retirement nest egg number.

Calculator Inputs

Current Age

Retirement Age

Annual Expenses Today ($)

Current Portfolio ($)

Monthly SIP ($)

Expected Annual Return (%)

Expected Inflation Rate (%)

Retirement Readiness:88.6%

Nominal Corpus at Retirement

$1,642,214

Today's Buying Power (Real)

$885,795

Purchasing Power Lost

46.1%

With annual expenses of $40,000, your inflation-adjusted FIRE nest egg target is $1,000,000 (which scales to a nominal target of $1,853,944 in 25 years). Based on your current savings and SIP, you are projected to accumulate $1,642,214 (worth $885,795 in today's buying power), placing you at 89% of your retirement nest egg goal.

FIRE nest egg target (real terms)$1,000,000

FIRE nest egg target (nominal terms)$1,853,944

Savings Growth to Retirement Age

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Return Scenario Comparisons

Conservative (-2%)

6.0% Return

Nominal Value:$1,125,646

Real Value (Purchasing Power):$607,163

Purchasing Power Loss:46.1%

Expected (Base)

8.0% Return

Nominal Value:$1,642,214

Real Value (Purchasing Power):$885,795

Purchasing Power Loss:46.1%

Optimistic (+2%)

10.0% Return

Nominal Value:$2,421,361

Real Value (Purchasing Power):$1,306,059

Purchasing Power Loss:46.1%

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Calculation Methodology & Formulas

The FIRE Target is calculated using your annual expenses:

FIRE Target (Real) = Annual Expenses × 25

FIRE Target (Nominal at Retirement) = FIRE Target (Real) × (1 + i)^Years

Where: Years = Retirement Age - Current Age, and i = annual inflation rate.

Real-World Compounding Projections

A 30-year-old planning for 50

With $40,000 annual expenses, your real FIRE target is $1,000,000. In 20 years at retirement, due to 2.5% inflation, your nominal target will be $1,638,616. With $100k current savings, you must invest $1,585/month at 8% return.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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