FIRE Calculator UK - Work Out Your FIRE Number and Years to Go

Yearly spending in retirement

What you expect to spend each year once you stop working, in today's money.

Other yearly income in retirement (optional)

Only income that starts when you retire, such as rental income. A State Pension that starts later will not cover the years before it begins.

Invested so far (optional)

Saved and invested per year (optional)

Expected real return per year

After inflation. This is an assumption, so try a few values.

Withdrawal rate

The share of your pot you plan to withdraw each year.

Enter your yearly spending to see your FIRE number.

This is an illustration based on the numbers you enter, not financial advice. Real returns vary from year to year, and the calculator ignores tax, fees and changes in your spending.

How the FIRE number is worked out

Your FIRE number is the amount you need invested so that a sensible yearly withdrawal covers your spending. It's your yearly spending, less any income that continues in retirement, divided by your withdrawal rate. At 4%, that's 25 times your spending, which is where the common "25x" rule of thumb comes from.

The 4% figure comes from US research into historic market returns, and it isn't a guarantee. Many people choose a more cautious rate for a long retirement, which is why the table in the results shows a few rates side by side.

How the years are estimated

The calculator starts from what you've already invested and adds your yearly savings, growing everything at the real return you chose. Because the return is after inflation, all the figures are in today's money. Pension money is included only if you enter it, and it can't usually be accessed until the minimum pension age, so think about what you'd live on until then.

What this leaves out

Tax on withdrawals, investment fees, changes in your spending, and the order in which good and bad years arrive are all missing. The estimate is a starting point for planning, not a forecast.

Track your progress towards your number

Add your accounts in CeeWealth, log your balances in about 30 seconds, and watch your net worth build over time. Free to start with no card needed. The full net worth dashboard and goals are part of Premium.

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Questions people actually ask.

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It means building enough invested money that its returns can cover your spending, so work becomes optional.

The FIRE number is your yearly spending, less any income that will continue in retirement, divided by your withdrawal rate. At a 4 percent withdrawal rate that works out as 25 times your yearly spending.

The return is an assumption, not a promise. The calculator uses a real return, meaning after inflation, so that every figure stays in today's money. Try both a cautious and an optimistic value to see the range.

You can, but pension money usually cannot be accessed until the minimum pension age, so consider whether you have enough outside a pension to bridge the gap.