Coast FIRE means you've saved enough that, without adding another penny, your investments should grow into a full retirement fund by your chosen retirement age. You still work to pay current expenses, but you no longer need to save for retirement.

How is Coast FIRE different from Barista FIRE?

With Barista FIRE you stop full-time work and part of your living costs come from part-time work while your portfolio covers the rest. With Coast FIRE you keep earning enough to cover all your current spending, but stop saving for retirement.

What return should I use?

Use a long-run return net of fees and before inflation, such as 6 to 7% for a mostly-stock portfolio. The calculator handles inflation separately and shows results in today's money.

It depends on how much margin you leave. Check the market scenarios and the "returns 1 or 2 points lower" lines. If the plan only works with your exact return assumption, keep saving a little longer.

Coast FIRE calculator

Coast FIRE is the point where your investments can grow into a full retirement on their own. After that, you only need to earn enough to cover today's bills. Enter your numbers to see your Coast FIRE number and when you'll reach it.

TightYour plan works, but it is tightIt lasts until 95 if markets deliver your 7.0% every year, but only in 77% of market scenarios and in 100% of real market periods since 1871. A few bad years early in retirement could break it.See the full results

Your plan

Quick start: pick the closest, then adjust

Today

Your age

yrs

Invested savings

Monthly contribution

Retirement

Retire at age

yrs

Money must last until age

yrs

How you'll spend in retirement

Monthly spending

Amount is in today's moneyIt will be raised by inflation until you retire.

Other income and one-offs

Income (per month, today's money: pension, part-time work, rent)

$fromto

One-off amounts (inheritance, house sale, big purchase)

Assumptions

Annual returnbefore inflation and fees

A global stock fund has averaged around 7% a year before inflation over long periods; bonds less.

Inflation

Your Coast FIRE number

$186,977

Invested today, this would grow into the $590,903 (today's money) you need at 60, with no more contributions. You have $80,000, so you're 43% of the way there.

Keep contributing as planned and you reach Coast FIRE at age 44.

Results

Tight

Your plan works, but it is tight

It lasts until 95 if markets deliver your 7.0% every year, but only in 77% of market scenarios and in 100% of real market periods since 1871. A few bad years early in retirement could break it.

Savings at 60

$874,261

148% of the $590,903 needed

Monthly spending at retirement

$3,500

then rises with inflation

Market scenarios that last

77%

100% of real periods since 1871

Initial withdrawal rate

4.8%

above the common 3.5–4% guideline

Earliest age you could retire with this spending: 56 (24 years from now)Assumes steady returns. Check the scenarios column in "Your options" before you pick an age.

Your savings over time

In today's money

Savings Money you put in Middle half of market scenarios Income starts or one-off amount

The best quarter of scenarios goes above the top of the chart.

Your options

Tight

What would change the outcome. Amounts in today's money. The first two lines assume steady returns: aim past them to leave room for bad years.

Monthly contribution
With steady returns you'd still be on track investing $544 a month. The $456 you invest on top is your margin for bad markets.
Spending in retirement
With steady returns you could spend up to $4,792 a month and still last until 95, $1,292 more than you plan.
Coast FIRE
With $186,977 invested today you could stop contributing and growth alone would get you to what you need at 60. On your current plan you get there at age 44.
If returns are lower than you expect
- At 6.0% a year instead of 7.0%, your money still lasts until 95.
- At 5.0% a year instead of 7.0%, your money runs out at 84 and 8 months.
What fees cost you
Fees of 0.20% a year leave you $33,254 less on the day you retire.

Compare retirement ages

The same plan if you stop working earlier or later.

Retire at	Savings then	You could spend	Steady returns	Scenarios
56earliest	$698,135	$3,692/mo	Lasts, $219,453 left	57%
57-3 yrs	$739,491	$3,941/mo	Lasts, $478,300 left	63%
58-2 yrs	$782,581	$4,207/mo	Lasts, $726,726 left	67%
59-1 yr	$827,479	$4,490/mo	Lasts, $965,149 left	72%
60your plan	$874,261	$4,792/mo	Lasts, $1,193,973 left	77%
61+1 yr	$923,005	$5,114/mo	Lasts, $1,413,584 left	81%
62+2 yrs	$973,794	$5,460/mo	Lasts, $1,624,353 left	84%
63+3 yrs	$1,026,714	$5,830/mo	Lasts, $1,826,636 left	87%
65+5 yrs	$1,139,307	$6,656/mo	Lasts, $2,207,097 left	93%

Today's money. "You could spend" is the monthly amount that lasts exactly until 95 with steady returns, including other income. "Scenarios" is the share of market scenarios in which your plan lasts.

Details

Random market scenarios

77%

of 1,000 scenarios last until age 95. Each one replays your plan with returns that swing from year to year (a typical swing of ±12% around your 6.8% after fees), and inflation that drifts around your 2.5%.

Savings at 60 in poor markets (1 in 10): $496,745
When it fails, money runs out around: age 81 and 8 months

Real market history

100%

of 90 real periods last until age 95. Each period starts your plan in a different year from 1871 and uses what US stocks and government bonds actually returned after inflation, for a 60% stocks mix, minus your fees.

Worst year to start: 1890, and it still lasts.

Bad years early in retirement are the main danger. Flexible spending, a cash buffer or retiring a little later all raise these numbers. These are illustrations, not forecasts. Change your investment mix under "More options".

Tight · 77% of scenarios

How the Coast FIRE number is worked out

First the calculator finds how much you need on the day you retire to fund your spending until the age your money must last to. Then it asks: how much would I need invested today for growth alone to reach that amount by my retirement age? That's your Coast FIRE number. Any pension or one-off amount you enter is included.

Your Coast FIRE age is the first year-end on your current plan at which your savings are at or above the number for that point in time. From that age you could stop contributing and still be on track, as long as returns match your assumption.

What it doesn't tell you

Coasting relies on returns. If markets are poor for a decade, a coasting portfolio has no new money to buy cheap shares. Look at the market scenarios on this page: if the success rate is low, keep contributing something, even a small amount, after you reach the number.

Questions people ask

What is Coast FIRE?: Coast FIRE means you've saved enough that, without adding another penny, your investments should grow into a full retirement fund by your chosen retirement age. You still work to pay current expenses, but you no longer need to save for retirement.
How is Coast FIRE different from Barista FIRE?: With Barista FIRE you stop full-time work and part of your living costs come from part-time work while your portfolio covers the rest. With Coast FIRE you keep earning enough to cover all your current spending, but stop saving for retirement.
What return should I use?: Use a long-run return net of fees and before inflation, such as 6 to 7% for a mostly-stock portfolio. The calculator handles inflation separately and shows results in today's money.
Is Coast FIRE risky?: It depends on how much margin you leave. Check the market scenarios and the "returns 1 or 2 points lower" lines. If the plan only works with your exact return assumption, keep saving a little longer.

Keep going

For education only, not personal financial advice. Your inputs stay in your browser.