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Coast FIRE: have you saved enough to coast?

Coast FIRE means you've invested enough that, even if you never add another dollar, growth alone could carry it to your FIRE number by the age you choose. Work then only has to pay today's bills.

Your numbers

When you'd want your investments to cover your spending.

In today's dollars.

Used to estimate when you'll reach Coast FIRE.

Assumptions (edit them)

Starting values are uFIRE's defaults, not predictions. Why we chose them is explained below.

After inflation. Default 5%.

Default 4%.

Your Coast FIRE results

Coast FIRE

$209,222 to go

To coast, you need $289,222 invested today. Left alone at a 5% real return, that would grow to your FIRE number of $1,250,000 by age 60.

At $12,000 a year you wouldn't reach the coast line before age 60. Try a later age or a bigger yearly amount.

Your path and the coast line

The coast line is what you'd need at each age to coast from there. Once your balance is above it, you can stop adding. In today's dollars.

  • Your investments (if you keep adding)
  • Coast line (needed at each age)
$0$500K$1M$1.5MAge 30Age 46Age 60

See the table
Projected investments and the coast line by age
AgeYour investmentsNeeded to coast
30$80,000$289,222
31$96,273$303,683
32$113,359$318,867
33$131,299$334,810
34$150,137$351,551
35$169,916$369,128
36$190,685$387,585
37$212,491$406,964
38$235,389$427,312
39$259,431$448,678
40$284,675$471,112
41$311,181$494,667
42$339,013$519,401
43$368,236$545,371
44$398,920$572,639
45$431,139$601,271
46$464,968$631,335
47$500,489$662,902
48$537,786$696,047
49$576,948$730,849
50$618,068$767,392
51$661,244$805,761
52$706,579$846,049
53$754,181$888,352
54$804,162$932,769
55$856,643$979,408
56$911,748$1,028,378
57$969,608$1,079,797
58$1,030,361$1,133,787
59$1,094,151$1,190,476
60$1,161,131$1,250,000

Want to go further than coasting? Find your Freedom Date.

The math

FIRE number = yearly spending ÷ withdrawal rate

Example: $50,000 ÷ 0.04 = $1,250,000.

Coast FIRE number = FIRE number ÷ (1 + real return)years until you want to be free

Example: $1,250,000 ÷ 1.05³⁰ ≈ $289,222 needed today at age 30 to coast to age 60.

If you're past the coast number, we also show the age at which today's balance alone would reach your FIRE number. If you're not there yet, we add your yearly saving month by month and find when your balance crosses the coast line.

Why people aim for Coast FIRE

It's a halfway point that changes how work feels. Once you're coasting, you might take a job you love that pays less, cut back to part time, or take time off with family, while your investments keep working. It's also a common goal for people with a long career ahead who want the pressure off early.

The catch: coasting only works if you leave the money invested and the returns show up. A lower return assumption gives a bigger, safer coast number. Try 3% or 4%. Part-time work can also cover part of your spending later; see the Barista FIRE calculator.

The assumptions, and why

Real return, default 5%. “Real” means after inflation. Working in real terms keeps every result in today's dollars, so a FIRE number 15 years away still means what it means today, and we don't need a separate inflation guess. 5% after inflation is a middle-of-the-road planning assumption for a portfolio that holds mostly stocks. It is not a forecast, and markets don't deliver a steady return. Try 3% or 4% to see a more cautious picture.

Safe withdrawal rate, default 4%. This is the “4% rule.” It comes from William Bengen's 1994 paper (opens in a new tab), which used historical U.S. stock and bond returns to test how much a retiree could take out in the first year, then raise each year with inflation, without running out. A later study, often called the Trinity study (1998) (opens in a new tab), tested withdrawal rates over payout periods of 15 to 30 years; Bengen tracked how long portfolios lasted out to 50 years, but framed his 4% around a minimum of 30. If you stop work at 40, your money may need to last 50 years or more, so it's worth testing a lower rate such as 3.5% or 3%.

What this calculator can't tell you

  • Real markets aren't smooth

    The math assumes the same return every year. Real returns jump around, and some decades are much worse than average. Treat any date or number here as a rough guide, not a promise.

  • Sequence of returns risk

    A market fall in the first few years after you stop working hurts far more than the same fall later, because you're selling investments while they're down. That's why withdrawal-rate research tests historical periods rather than averages, and why many early retirees keep some flexibility in their spending.

  • Taxes

    These numbers are before tax on your withdrawals. Money from a traditional 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) or IRA is generally taxed as income when you take it out, and taking it before 59½ can add a 10% additional tax unless an exception applies (see the IRS list of exceptions (opens in a new tab)). Roth money and ordinary investment accounts follow different rules. Add an allowance for tax to your spending.

  • Health insurance before Medicare

    Medicare generally starts at 65 (Medicare.gov (opens in a new tab)). If you stop work before then, you'll need your own coverage, for example through the Health Insurance Marketplace (HealthCare.gov: retiring before 65 (opens in a new tab)). Include those premiums and out-of-pocket costs in your spending.

  • Inflation

    Results are in today's dollars because the return is “real” (after inflation). If you enter a return that isn't adjusted for inflation, the answers will look rosier than they are. Inflation is usually measured by the Consumer Price Index (opens in a new tab).

Sources

Links checked October 5, 2026.

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