Retirement & independence · Any currency
FIRE Calculator
Estimate your financial independence target, when you might reach it, and how different withdrawal rates change how long savings may last.
Your illustration
Financial independence, retire early (FIRE): choose a target calculated from annual spending and a withdrawal-rate assumption, or enter a portfolio target you already use. Contributions, target and balances are in today's money.
- Your FIRE target
- CAD 1,000,000
- Time to FIRE at current saving pace
- Not reached in 30 years
- Monthly saving to reach FIRE in 30 years
- CAD 1,694.55
Your FIRE target is annual spending divided by the withdrawal-rate assumption. A higher rate lowers that target, but it also starts retirement with less money supporting the same spending. Compare the modeled savings duration below before treating a higher rate as easier or better.
Withdrawal-rate trade-off
Every row keeps your first-year retirement spending at CAD 40,000. A higher withdrawal rate reaches that spending with a smaller starting portfolio, but the smaller portfolio is modeled to run down faster.
| Withdrawal rate | FIRE target | Modeled savings last |
|---|---|---|
| 3.0% | CAD 1,333,333 | 53 years, 11 months |
| 3.5% | CAD 1,142,857 | 41 years, 11 months |
| 4.0% (selected) | CAD 1,000,000 | 34 years, 5 months |
| 4.5% | CAD 888,889 | 29 years, 3 months |
| 5.0% | CAD 800,000 | 25 years, 6 months |
| 6.0% | CAD 666,667 | 20 years, 3 months |
The duration starts with that row's FIRE target, withdraws your selected annual spending monthly, raises spending with inflation each year, and uses your constant return and fee assumptions. “80+ years” means no shortfall appeared within the 80-year test horizon, not that the portfolio can never run out. Real market volatility and sequence-of-returns risk are not modeled.
View year-by-year table
| Year | Balance at current saving pace | Your FIRE target |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | CAD 100,000 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 1 | CAD 114,032 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 2 | CAD 128,335 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 3 | CAD 142,914 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 4 | CAD 157,773 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 5 | CAD 172,919 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 6 | CAD 188,356 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 7 | CAD 204,091 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 8 | CAD 220,129 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 9 | CAD 236,476 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 10 | CAD 253,138 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 11 | CAD 270,121 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 12 | CAD 287,432 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 13 | CAD 305,076 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 14 | CAD 323,060 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 15 | CAD 341,390 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 16 | CAD 360,074 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 17 | CAD 379,117 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 18 | CAD 398,528 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 19 | CAD 418,312 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 20 | CAD 438,478 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 21 | CAD 459,033 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 22 | CAD 479,983 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 23 | CAD 501,337 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 24 | CAD 523,103 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 25 | CAD 545,287 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 26 | CAD 567,900 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 27 | CAD 590,948 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 28 | CAD 614,440 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 29 | CAD 638,385 | CAD 1,000,000 |
| 30 | CAD 662,791 | CAD 1,000,000 |
Educational estimates, not financial advice. Actual returns and inflation vary. Taxes, government benefits, currency movements and market volatility are not modeled. No result guarantees retirement income.
How this calculator works
In spending mode, the FIRE target is annual spending from savings divided by the withdrawal-rate assumption; the default 40,000 and 4% therefore produce 1,000,000, but the target is not fixed. The calculator also compares several withdrawal rates while holding annual spending constant, showing both the lower target produced by a higher rate and how long that smaller portfolio would fund inflation-adjusted withdrawals under the same return assumptions. In target mode, the entered portfolio target is used directly. We project month-end saving with a constant real return, find the first month the balance reaches the target, and solve for the monthly saving needed to reach it by the selected horizon.
Spending mode: FIRE target = annual spending / (withdrawal rate / 100). Target mode: FIRE target = portfolio target entered. A 4% spending-based assumption corresponds to 25 times annual spending. Withdrawal comparisons run the standard monthly drawdown for up to 80 years.
Rates in formulas are decimals. P is starting savings, C is the monthly contribution, n is the number of months, and m is the effective monthly return. Net annual growth is (1 + gross return) × (1 - annual fee) - 1. The equivalent monthly rate is (1 + annual rate)^(1/12) - 1. Real returns also divide the annual growth factor by (1 + inflation).
Example: With annual spending of 40,000, a 4% assumption gives a 1,000,000 target while 5% gives 800,000. The higher rate reaches the same spending with less starting money, but the comparison also shows that the 800,000 portfolio is modeled to run down sooner under identical return, fee and inflation assumptions.
Change the examples to reflect your situation and test less favorable assumptions. These simplified formulas exclude country-specific taxes and benefits. Constant investment returns do not capture market volatility or the order in which gains and losses occur.
Common questions
Why does a higher withdrawal rate lower my FIRE target?
Your annual spending stays the same, but you are planning to take that spending from a smaller portfolio. For 40,000 of spending, 4% requires 1,000,000 while 5% requires 800,000. The withdrawal-rate comparison shows the cost of that smaller target by estimating how long each portfolio funds the same spending.
Does the modeled savings duration make a withdrawal rate safe?
No. It uses one constant return, fee and inflation path for up to 80 years. Real markets are volatile, and poor returns early in retirement can make savings run out sooner. Treat the comparison as an illustration of the trade-off, not a safe-withdrawal recommendation.
Background & references
These references explain the underlying concepts. The formulas and timing described above define this tool; no country-specific rules are imported from the references.
Related calculators
Retirement Savings Calculator
Compare your current saving pace with a retirement target, and estimate the monthly saving needed to close the gap.
Open calculatorHow Long Will My Money Last?
Explore how long savings could fund your spending with inflation, investment growth and fees included.
Open calculatorRetirement Withdrawal Calculator
Translate an initial withdrawal-rate assumption into retirement income and see an inflation-adjusted withdrawal projection.
Open calculatorNeed a Canadian retirement plan?
Go beyond these general illustrations with Canadian government benefits, registered accounts and estimated taxes.