Early Retirement Calculator
Pick the age you want to retire and the calculator grows what you have and what you save to that age, compares it with your FIRE number and says yes or no, with the shortfall and the yearly saving that would close it. In the example, retiring at 45 needs $1,250,000 and the plan reaches $707,959, so it says not yet.
Can you retire then?
At 53, not 45
Can you retire then?
- FIRE number $1,250,000
- Portfolio at 45 $707,959
- Shortfall $542,041
- Yearly saving that gets there by 45 $54,601
- Year the number arrives at current saving age 53
| Retire at | Portfolio then | Enough? |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | $450,797 | short $799,203 |
| 45 | $707,959 | short $542,041 |
| 50 | $1,036,170 | short $213,830 |
| 55 | $1,455,060 | yes |
| 60 | $1,989,681 | yes |
| 65 | $2,672,009 | yes |
How is the yes or no worked out?
Portfolio at the age = balance grown for n years with the yearly saving added each year. Saving needed = (target − balance × (1 + r)^n) × r ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1).
Worked example. From 32 to 45 is 13 years. $150,000 × 1.05¹³ = $282,847 on its own, and $24,000 a year grows to $425,112, together $707,959. The target is $1,250,000, so the shortfall is $542,041. The saving that closes it: ($1,250,000 − $282,847) × 0.05 ÷ (1.05¹³ − 1) = $54,601 a year.
What early retirement costs in saving
Each year earlier is a year less of growth and a year more of withdrawals, so the price rises steeply at the young end. In the example, 55 is reachable at the current saving (the number arrives at 53), 45 needs about 128% more saved each year, and 40 would need roughly four times the saving. The table at the foot of the results shows the whole curve.
Bridging to pensions and tax-advantaged accounts
Money in pension or retirement accounts may not be accessible at 45 without penalty, so an early retiree needs a bridge: taxable savings that carry the years until those accounts open. Treat the bridge as part of the target, and type a saving figure that goes into accounts you can reach.
Testing the plan
Run the calculator at 3% real as well as 5%, and at 3.5% withdrawal as well as 4%. If the age survives all four, the plan has room. The Coast FIRE calculator shows the point from which you could stop saving and still make a later age, which is a useful fallback if the early age slips.
Questions about early retirement
Can I retire at 45?
The calculator answers for your numbers. In the example, $150,000 plus $24,000 a year at 5% real grows to $707,959 by 45, short of the $1,250,000 that $50,000 a year needs. Saving $54,601 a year instead would get there.
How is the extra saving worked out?
From the annuity formula: the target, less what your current balance grows to on its own, divided by the growth factor of a yearly payment over the years left. It is the yearly amount that lands exactly on the target in the year you chose.
What if the extra saving is more than I earn?
Then the age is not reachable by saving alone, and the result says when it does arrive at your current saving. The levers are lower planned spending (every $1,000 a year cuts the target by $25,000), a later age, or part-time income in retirement (Barista FIRE).
Should early retirees use 4%?
Most plan on 3.5% or lower, because a retirement starting at 45 can run 50 years and the 4% rule was tested over 30. Change the withdrawal rate and the target moves; at 3.5% it is 14% higher.
What does the table show?
The portfolio you would have at 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 at your current saving, and whether each is enough. It makes the trade-off between the age and the shortfall visible in one glance.