Coast FIRE Calculator
Find your Coast FIRE number, Full FIRE number, Barista FIRE, Lean FIRE or Fat FIRE target — all in one free tool. Updated with 2026 IRS contribution limits.
Your Numbers
FIRE Variant Settings
Your 5 FIRE Paths
Lean FIRE
Retire earliest by living on a minimal budget.
FIRE Number —Coast FIRE
Save this much, then stop — compounding does the rest by your target retirement age.
Coast Number Needed Today —Full FIRE
Portfolio fully covers your current lifestyle — no work required.
FIRE Number —Fat FIRE
A larger portfolio funding a more comfortable, higher-spending retirement.
FIRE Number —2026 Contribution Limits (IRS)
- 401(k) / 403(b) / 457 / TSP: $24,500/yr — plus $8,000 catch-up (age 50+) or $11,250 “super catch-up” (age 60–63)
- Traditional / Roth IRA: $7,500/yr — plus $1,100 catch-up (age 50+)
- HSA: $4,400 self-only / $8,750 family — plus $1,000 catch-up (age 55+)
- High earners note: if your prior-year FICA wages exceeded $150,000, all catch-up contributions must now be made as Roth (after-tax) starting in 2026
- Standard Deduction 2026: $16,100 (Single) / $32,200 (Married Filing Jointly)
Accessing Your Money Before 59½
- Rule of 55: if you leave your job in or after the year you turn 55, you can withdraw penalty-free from that employer’s 401(k)
- SEPP / 72(t): substantially equal periodic payments let you tap an IRA or 401(k) early without the 10% penalty, if followed strictly for 5 years or until age 59½
- Roth Conversion Ladder: convert traditional IRA funds to Roth, then withdraw the converted principal tax- and penalty-free after a 5-year wait
- Roth contributions: your original Roth IRA contributions (not earnings) can always be withdrawn tax- and penalty-free at any age
- Social Security: full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later; you can claim as early as 62 (permanently reduced) or delay to 70 for a higher benefit
This calculator is for educational purposes only and isn’t tax or financial advice. Figures reflect 2026 IRS inflation adjustments and are subject to change. Consult a licensed financial or tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.
Coast FIRE Calculator: Find Out If You Can Stop Saving Aggressively
See exactly how much you’d need invested today for compound growth alone to carry you to retirement — no more contributions required.
How to Use This Coast FIRE Calculator
Current age, target retirement age, current invested balance, expected annual return, and your safe withdrawal rate.
Coast FIRE is the default, but you can switch to Full, Barista, Lean, or Fat FIRE to compare targets side by side.
Annual spending for most modes, or part-time income if you’re modeling Barista FIRE.
If your current balance is already above your Coast FIRE number, you’ve coasted — you can drop your savings rate to whatever covers today’s lifestyle.
What Coast FIRE Actually Means
Coast FIRE isn’t a lifestyle — it’s a milestone. It’s the point where the money you’ve already invested is enough, left completely alone, to compound into your full retirement number by the age you want to retire. Once you hit it, you don’t need to save another dollar toward retirement specifically. You still need to earn enough to cover your current expenses, but the retirement portion of the equation is solved.
That’s the part people mix up: Coast FIRE doesn’t mean you stop working. It means the pressure to save 40–50% of your income disappears, because time and compounding are now doing that job for you.
The trade most people don’t think about
Reaching Coast FIRE early usually means you either saved unusually hard in your 20s, or you’re pushing your retirement age further out to give compounding more runway. The calculator makes this trade visible: shorten your years-to-retirement and watch how much larger your required “coast number” gets.
The Math Behind Your Coast FIRE Number
Two formulas, run in sequence:
FIRE Number = Annual Retirement Spending ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate
Coast FIRE Number = FIRE Number ÷ (1 + Annual Return) ^ Years to Retirement
| Spending/yr | SWR | FIRE Number | Years to retirement | Return assumed | Coast FIRE Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 4% | $1,250,000 | 20 | 7% | ≈ $323,000 |
In plain terms: if you already have roughly $323,000 invested and leave it untouched for 20 years at a 7% average real return, it grows into $1.25M — enough to safely withdraw $50,000/year indefinitely at a 4% rate.
Why Your Return Assumption Matters More Than You Think
The exponent in that second formula means small changes to your assumed return move your target a lot over 20+ years. Most of the “am I close to Coast FIRE?” disappointment people run into comes from an overly optimistic return assumption, not from bad saving habits. Same $1,250,000 FIRE number, same 20-year runway:
| Assumed annual return | Coast FIRE number needed today | Difference vs. 7% |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | ≈ $471,000 | +$148,000 |
| 6% | ≈ $390,000 | +$67,000 |
| 7% | ≈ $323,000 | baseline |
| 8% | ≈ $268,000 | −$55,000 |
| 9% | ≈ $223,000 | −$100,000 |
A one-point swing in your assumed return moves your target by tens of thousands of dollars. Most FIRE planners use 6–7% real (after-inflation) return for a stock-heavy portfolio — run the calculator at 6% and 8% both, and treat the gap between them as your margin of error rather than trusting a single number.
Three Real Coast FIRE Profiles
| Profile | Current age | Invested now | Target retirement | Coast FIRE status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early aggressive saver — maxed a 401(k) for 8 years in their 20s | 29 | $180,000 | 60 | Already coasting — can drop to a 10% savings rate |
| Late starter, high earner — began investing seriously at 38 | 38 | $95,000 | 55 | Not yet — needs ~$210,000 at 7% return, still saving aggressively |
| Mid-career, moderate saver | 34 | $140,000 | 62 | Coasted 3 years early — could retire slightly sooner instead |
Notice the second profile: a high income doesn’t guarantee an early Coast FIRE date. What moves the number is years of runway and consistency early on — someone with fewer years left to retirement needs a much bigger invested base today to coast on.
Coast FIRE vs the Other FIRE Types
| Type | What it means | Typical annual spending | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coast FIRE | Current savings alone will compound to your FIRE number by retirement | Any amount | People who want to stop aggressive saving now and still work |
| Full FIRE | Portfolio covers 100% of spending indefinitely | Any amount | Full financial independence from work of any kind |
| Barista FIRE | Portfolio covers most expenses; light part-time work covers the rest | Any amount minus part-time income | Semi-retirement with flexibility and benefits (e.g. health insurance) |
| Lean FIRE | Fully retired on a frugal, minimal budget | $25,000–$40,000/yr | Extreme savers, low-cost-of-living areas |
| Fat FIRE | Fully retired with a comfortable or luxurious lifestyle | $100,000+/yr | High earners unwilling to compromise lifestyle |
Mistakes People Make With Coast FIRE
- Using a nominal return instead of a real one. If your calculator input isn’t already inflation-adjusted, a “10% return” assumption is quietly overstating your progress by 2–3 points a year.
- Forgetting lifestyle inflation. Coasting on today’s spending number doesn’t protect you if your annual spending climbs as your income does — rerun the calculator whenever your budget changes meaningfully.
- Treating “coasted” as “done.” Market downturns in the first few years after you stop contributing can meaningfully delay your number — Coast FIRE is a plan to revisit yearly, not a one-time checkbox.
- Ignoring taxes and account type. A Coast FIRE number sitting mostly in a traditional 401(k) will net out differently after tax than the same balance in a Roth or brokerage account — the calculator’s output is pre-tax unless you adjust for it.
2026 Contribution Limits — Useful While You’re Still Contributing
Before you’ve coasted, maxing tax-advantaged accounts is the fastest way to shrink your years-to-retirement input. Confirmed 2026 IRS limits:
- 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans: $24,500/year (up from $23,500 in 2025)
- 401(k) catch-up (age 50+): additional $8,000 — total $32,500
- Super catch-up (age 60–63): additional $11,250 — total $35,750
- IRA (Traditional or Roth): $7,500/year (up from $7,000 in 2025)
- IRA catch-up (age 50+): additional $1,100 — total $8,600
- SEP-IRA: $72,000 or 25% of compensation, whichever is less
One 2026 change worth knowing: under SECURE 2.0, catch-up contributions for anyone who earned more than $150,000 in 2025 must now go in as Roth (after-tax) rather than pre-tax — check with your plan administrator before assuming otherwise. Full detail at IRS.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Coast FIRE different from just “saving less”?
Saving less without checking the math is a guess. Coast FIRE is the specific, calculated point where your current balance mathematically no longer needs new contributions to hit your target — it replaces a vague feeling with a number you can verify.
Does Coast FIRE account for Social Security?
Not by default — this calculator focuses on your invested portfolio. If you expect meaningful Social Security income, your true Coast FIRE number is smaller than what the tool shows, since part of retirement spending would be covered separately.
What happens if the market drops right after I “coast”?
Your number was calculated assuming a steady average return, but real markets are lumpy. A downturn in the first 5 years after you stop contributing has an outsized effect versus one late in the timeline (sequence-of-returns risk) — many people keep a smaller ongoing contribution as a buffer rather than stopping completely at the exact calculated number.
Can I reach Coast FIRE and Barista FIRE at different ages?
Yes, and usually in that order. Coast FIRE only requires your current balance to grow untouched; Barista FIRE requires your portfolio plus part-time income to cover spending sooner — it’s a lower bar in terms of total number needed but requires you to actually work part-time to make it work.
Is a 7% return assumption realistic for 2026?
It’s within the range most planners use for a stock-heavy portfolio after inflation, but it’s an assumption, not a guarantee. Run your own numbers at 5%, 7%, and 9% (see the sensitivity table above) rather than anchoring to one figure.
2026 contribution limits confirmed from the IRS announcement. SECURE 2.0 Roth catch-up rule per IRS SECURE 2.0 guidance. This page is educational only and not financial advice — consult a licensed financial advisor for decisions specific to your situation.
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