When Can I Retire? A Simple Calculator

The Three Numbers You Need

To calculate when you can retire, you only need three numbers:

1. Current savings - What you have now
2. Monthly savings - What you add each month
3. Monthly expenses - What you spend (or will spend in retirement)

That's it. Everything else is detail.

The Formula

FIRE Number = Annual Expenses × 25

Years to FIRE = (FIRE Number - Current Savings) ÷ (Annual Savings + Investment Growth)

Let's make this concrete.

Example Calculation

Your situation:

• Current savings: $200,000
• Monthly savings: $2,000 ($24,000/year)
• Monthly expenses: $4,000 ($48,000/year)

Step 1: Calculate your FIRE number

$48,000 × 25 = $1,200,000

Step 2: Calculate the gap

$1,200,000 - $200,000 = $1,000,000 to go

Step 3: Factor in growth

With 7% average returns and $24,000/year contributions:

• Year 5: ~$450,000
• Year 10: ~$800,000
• Year 13: ~$1,200,000

Result: ~13 years to FIRE

Quick Reference

If you're starting from $100,000:

• Save $1,000/mo, spend $3,000/mo → 25 years to FIRE
• Save $1,500/mo, spend $3,000/mo → 20 years to FIRE
• Save $2,000/mo, spend $3,000/mo → 16 years to FIRE
• Save $2,500/mo, spend $3,000/mo → 13 years to FIRE
• Save $2,000/mo, spend $4,000/mo → 21 years to FIRE
• Save $3,000/mo, spend $4,000/mo → 15 years to FIRE
• Save $2,000/mo, spend $5,000/mo → 25 years to FIRE
• Save $4,000/mo, spend $5,000/mo → 14 years to FIRE

The Levers You Can Pull

1. Save More

Every $500/month extra shaves 2-4 years off your timeline.

2. Spend Less

Cutting $500/month from expenses does two things:

• Frees up $500/month for savings
• Reduces your FIRE number by $150,000

Double impact.

3. Earn More

Higher income only helps if you save the difference (not spend it).

4. Relocate

Moving to a lower-cost area can be the biggest lever:

• $6,000/month expenses = $1,800,000 FIRE number
• $2,928/month expenses (Portugal) = $878,400 FIRE number

That's potentially 10+ years difference.

Learn more about geographic arbitrage in our cheapest countries to retire abroad guide.

First need to understand how much you actually need? Read How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?

What About Social Security / State Pension?

If you'll receive guaranteed income in retirement, subtract it from your expenses.

Example:

• Expenses: $4,000/month ($48,000/year)
• Social Security: $1,500/month ($18,000/year)
• Gap to fund: $2,500/month ($30,000/year)
• FIRE Number: $30,000 × 25 = $750,000 (not $1.2M)

Government pensions effectively reduce your required savings by hundreds of thousands.

The Savings Rate Shortcut

Your savings rate predicts years to FIRE regardless of income:

• 10% savings rate: 51 years to FIRE
• 20% savings rate: 37 years to FIRE
• 30% savings rate: 28 years to FIRE
• 40% savings rate: 22 years to FIRE
• 50% savings rate: 17 years to FIRE
• 60% savings rate: 12 years to FIRE
• 70% savings rate: 8 years to FIRE

Calculate your savings rate:

Monthly Savings ÷ Monthly Income × 100 = Savings Rate %

Try It Now

Grab a pen:

1. Your current retirement savings: $__________
2. Your monthly savings: $__________
3. Your monthly expenses: $__________
4. Your FIRE number (expenses × 12 × 25): $__________
5. The gap (FIRE number - current savings): $__________

Now you know where you stand.

Want a More Detailed Answer?

This calculation assumes:

• 7% average investment returns
• 3% inflation
• 30-year retirement
• 4% withdrawal rate

Real life has more variables: different return assumptions, social security timing, pension access ages, tax implications, and more.

For a personalized calculation that factors in all of this, use our free tool.

Ready for your personalized retirement date? Take our free 2-minute quiz and see exactly when you could retire.