firecalculators.com

Coast FIRE Calculator — United States

Coast FIRE is the milestone most people hit years before they realise. Once your existing investments are large enough to compound into your full FIRE number by your target retirement age, every further contribution is optional — you only need to cover your living costs.

Rules & rates
AustraliaUnited States

American rules, 2026 tax year

Your situation

All figures in today's dollars.

35
1870
60
3675
$

What you have and what you add

$
$
$
$

What you need invested today to coast

$458,594

You have $225,000 invested, so you are $233,594 short of the coast line. At your current contributions you cross it at age 47.

Full FIRE number
$1,500,000
Coast FIRE age
Age 47
Time to coast
12 years

Save this scenario. Compare plans side by side, track progress, and export the full year-by-year schedule.

See plans

Your balance against the coast line

Once the projection crosses the coast line you could stop contributing entirely and still land on your number.

  • Projected balance
  • Coast FIRE line
Projected at retirement
$1,999,004

If you keep contributing

In brokerage
$806,674

Reachable at any age

In 401(k)
$1,192,329

Locked until 59½

The coast number at every age

Read across to see how much less you would need if you pushed your retirement date back — or how much more if you brought it forward.

AgeCoast numberProjectedStatus
35$458,594$225,000Keep saving
36$480,855$262,922Keep saving
37$504,198$302,686Keep saving
38$528,674$344,379Keep saving
39$554,337$388,096Keep saving
40$581,247$433,936Keep saving
41$609,463$482,001Keep saving
42$639,048$532,399Keep saving
43$670,070$585,244Keep saving
44$702,598$640,654Keep saving
45$736,704$698,753Keep saving
46$772,467$759,673Keep saving
47$809,965$823,551Coasting
48$849,284$890,529Coasting
49$890,511$960,758Coasting
50$933,740$1,034,397Coasting
51$979,067$1,111,611Coasting
52$1,026,595$1,192,572Coasting
53$1,076,429$1,277,464Coasting
54$1,128,683$1,366,477Coasting
55$1,183,474$1,459,811Coasting
56$1,240,924$1,557,675Coasting
57$1,301,163$1,660,291Coasting
58$1,364,326$1,767,887Coasting
59$1,430,556$1,880,707Coasting
60$1,500,000$1,999,004Coasting

How this works

Can I stop saving and still retire on time?

The formula behind it

Your coast number is your FIRE number discounted back at the real rate of return: annual spending divided by your withdrawal rate, then divided by (1 + real return) raised to the number of years left. Everything is computed in today's dollars, which is why the real return — your nominal return less inflation — is what matters.

Why it changes how work feels

Coast FIRE turns a decades-long obligation into a much smaller one: cover this year's expenses. That is what makes a lower-paid but better job, a sabbatical, or dropping to four days a week suddenly affordable, long before full financial independence arrives.

The catch this page checks for

Most coast calculators quietly assume you can reach all of your money. If you plan to retire before your preservation age, part of that balance is locked away, and clearing the coast line does not mean you can actually stop working. The bridge panel tests whether your accessible pool covers the gap years.

What it deliberately ignores

Coast FIRE answers exactly one question: when can contributions stop. It does not model tax on the way in, contribution caps, or a variable market. Use the full FIRE calculator once you want the complete picture.

Keep going

Other American calculators

FIRE

The full projection: earliest retirement age, the bridge years, and whether the money lasts.

Barista FIRE

Model part-time income covering part of your spending while the portfolio keeps growing.

Lean FIRE

Independence on a deliberately small budget — and an honest test of whether it survives.

Fat FIRE

A no-compromise retirement, where contribution caps and tax become the binding constraint.

Drawdown / SWR

Thousands of simulated market paths to test whether your withdrawal rate survives.