Calculators for planning your retirement
Four tools for the long game — project your nest egg, find the age you can stop, and pin down the number that means work becomes optional. Free, instant, and private to your browser.
Plan the finish line
Retirement Savings
nest eggYour nest egg at retirement age, a safe monthly income by the 4% rule, and how long the money lasts in drawdown — the whole arc.
Open calculatorRetirement Age
when?The question that matters: at what age can you afford to stop? Plus what saving an extra $200 or $500 a month buys you.
Open calculatorFinancial Independence
FIYour FI number and date from income, spending and savings — and the famous savings-rate table that makes the math shockingly simple.
Open calculatorCoast FIRE
milestoneThe amount invested today that compounds into full retirement by itself — so every dollar you earn after only has to fund the present.
Open calculatorFrom nest egg to freedom number
Four angles on the same question — how much, by when — each one sharpening the plan a little further.
Project the nest egg
Start with the big arc: what your savings grow into by retirement, the safe income they throw off, and how long the money lasts in drawdown.
Find your date
Flip the question around. At your current pace, what age can you actually afford to stop — and what does an extra $200 or $500 a month move it to?
Pin your FI number
Financial independence is a number, not an age. From your spending and savings rate, find the amount that lets work become optional — and when you'll reach it.
Check the Coast milestone
There's a point where you can stop saving entirely and still retire on time, just from growth. See the amount that gets you to Coast FIRE today.
The maths behind retiring
Retirement planning comes down to two numbers: the pot you need, and the rate you're filling it. The famous 4% rule ties them together — it suggests you can withdraw about 4% of your savings in the first year and adjust for inflation after, which implies a target of roughly 25 times your annual spending.
The surprise for most people is that your savings rate matters more than your investment return. The share of income you keep determines both how fast the pot grows and how small it needs to be — a high saver needs less and gets there sooner.
The 4% rule
A rule of thumb that withdrawing 4% of your nest egg in year one — adjusted for inflation thereafter — has historically lasted about 30 years. It implies a target of roughly 25× annual spending.
Your FI number
The amount that makes work optional: annual spending times about 25. It's driven by how much you spend, not how much you earn — lower expenses mean a smaller finish line.
Savings rate
The share of take-home pay you save. It's the single biggest lever on your retirement date — raising it both grows the pot faster and shrinks the target you need.
Coast FIRE
The point where your invested savings will grow into a full retirement on their own, with no further contributions. After it, you only need to cover current spending.
Sequence risk
The danger of poor returns early in retirement, when withdrawals bite hardest. It's why drawdown plans lean conservative in the first years.
Compounding runway
The decades your money has to grow before you touch it. A longer runway does more of the work, which is why starting early dramatically lowers what you must save.
How your savings rate sets your timeline
Working years to financial independence, by the share of take-home pay you save, assuming a 5% real return and starting from zero.
| Savings rate | Years to FI | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | ~51 years | A full career and then some |
| 25% | ~32 years | The traditional path |
| 50% | ~17 years | Aggressive but common in FIRE |
| 65% | ~11 years | Extreme frugality, early exit |
Illustrative, based on the classic savings-rate model at a 5% real return from a zero start. The exact years shift with returns and starting balance, but the shape holds: what you save matters far more than what you earn on it.