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FIRE Calculator

Find your FIRE number, the age you could retire early from your savings rate, your Coast FIRE number, and how much you’d need in ISAs before your pension opens at 57.

£

Including retirement accounts

£

A year, after tax, plus your pension contributions

£

A year. You invest £14,000: 35% of your pay

More options· 7% growth, 4% withdrawals
%

A year, after fees

%

A year

%

4% is the usual rule

%

Of what you spend now: £26,000 a year

If you stopped investing

You could retire at

53

In 23 years, 7 months, investing 35% of your pay

Your FIRE number
£650,000
Savings rate
35%
Your FIRE number: where it comes from
  • Invested now£30,000
  • You invest£330,167
  • Investment growth£293,175

What this means

Your FIRE number is what you’d spend in a year divided by the 4% you’d take out. Spending £1,000 a year less lowers it by £25,000.

That’s why spending matters twice: you invest more now and need less later.

Next step

Your investments by age, split by where the money came from
£800,000£400,000£0
313336394245485153.6
Invested nowYou investGrowthFIRE number

Coast FIRE

Coast FIRE number today£144,483
Invested now£30,000

Keep investing until about 40. After that, your investments could grow to £650,000 by 65 without you investing any more, so you’d only need to earn what you spend.

Before you can use your pensions

You retire at53
You can use your pensions from57
Years to bridge3½ years
Spending to cover£88,833

Hold about £89,000 of your FIRE money in ISAs, which you can use at any age.

The minimum pension age is 55 until 6 April 2028, then 57.

What would change it

Spend 10% lessAt 49 · 4 years sooner
Spend 10% moreAt 58 · 4½ years later
Growth 1% lowerAt 56 · 2½ years later
Withdraw 3.5% a yearAt 55 · 2 years later

Spending less helps twice: you invest more now, and you need a smaller pot later.

Assumptions in this estimate
  • Everything is in today’s money: your pay, spending and investments keep pace with 2.5% inflation, so 7% growth is 4.4% a year after inflation. Real returns go up and down; a bad first few years of retirement matters most.
  • Your FIRE number is what you’d spend in a year of retirement divided by the withdrawal rate: at 4%, 25 times your spending. The 4% rule comes from US studies of 30-year retirements; for a longer early retirement, many people use 3% to 3.5%.
  • What you don’t spend is invested each month. Taxes on investment growth and withdrawals aren’t included.
  • The State Pension isn’t included. It would cover some of your spending later in life, so you may need less.
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How the calculator works

  1. Your savings rate: what you don’t spend from your take-home pay is invested each month. Add your pension contributions to your pay, since they’re money you save.
  2. Your FIRE number: what you’d spend in a year of retirement divided by the withdrawal rate (4% means 25 times your spending).
  3. Growth: your investments grow at the rate you choose. Everything is in today’s money, so your pay and spending rise with inflation.

Your savings rate sets the timeline

Starting with nothing, with 7% growth, 2.5% inflation and a 4% withdrawal rate:

You invest Years to FIRE
10% 55
20% 39
30% 29
40% 22
50% 17
60% 13
70% 9

Your salary doesn’t change these figures. What counts is the share of it you invest.

Example

At 30, with £30,000 invested, £40,000 of take-home pay and £26,000 of spending a year, you invest 35% of your pay. Your FIRE number is £650,000 and you could retire at 53. Spend 10% less, and you could retire at 49.

You’d reach Coast FIRE at about 40: from then on, your investments could grow to your FIRE number by 65 without adding any more.

Bridge years: ISAs before your pension opens

Pensions are the most tax-efficient way to save, with tax relief going in, but you can’t touch them until the minimum pension age: 55 now, and 57 from 6 April 2028. Retire at 53 and you’d have 3½ years, about £89,000 of spending, to cover from elsewhere:

  • Stocks and shares ISAs can be used at any age, and what you take out is tax-free. You can put in up to £20,000 a year.
  • A general investment account works too, with capital gains and dividend tax on what it earns.

Retire earlier and the bridge grows, so early retirees often split their saving between pensions and ISAs. See what your workplace pension alone could grow to with our pension calculator, or plan your spending with the budget calculator.

Last updated

Frequently asked questions

What is FIRE?

FIRE means financial independence, retire early. You invest a big share of your pay until your investments can pay for your lifestyle, and working becomes optional. The more of your pay you invest, the sooner that happens.

How much do I need to retire early in the UK?

A common rule is 25 times your yearly spending, which allows for withdrawing 4% a year. Spending £26,000 a year, that’s £650,000. For a retirement of 40 years or more, many people use 3.5% instead, which needs about £743,000.

What is Coast FIRE?

Coast FIRE is the point where your pension and investments could grow to your FIRE number by a normal retirement age with nothing more added. You keep working, but only to pay your way, not to save.

When can I take money from my pension?

From 55 until 6 April 2028, when the minimum pension age rises to 57. Up to 25% can usually be taken tax-free, up to £268,275 in total; the rest is taxed as income when you take it.

Should I count the State Pension?

This calculator doesn’t include it. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27, from State Pension age (rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028). It would cover part of your spending later in life, so you may need a smaller pot.