How much money do I need to retire?

A common starting estimate multiplies your expected annual spending in retirement by 25, based on a 4% initial withdrawal rate assumption. For $70,000 in annual spending, that's roughly $1.75 million. This is a simplified planning heuristic, not a personalized guarantee, and the right multiple for you depends on your withdrawal strategy, expected retirement length, and risk tolerance.

The 4% rule is a guideline suggesting that withdrawing 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, then adjusting that dollar amount for inflation each year after, has historically had a reasonable chance of lasting 30 years without depleting the portfolio, based on historical U.S. market return studies. It's a planning starting point, not a guarantee — actual safe withdrawal rates depend on market returns during your specific retirement years, portfolio composition, and how long your retirement lasts.

Does a higher savings rate really get me to retirement faster?

Yes, and the effect compounds. A higher annual contribution both grows your portfolio faster and (for a fixed spending target) doesn't change your target number, so the years-to-target shrinks in more than a linear way as your contribution rises relative to your target.

Should I use my current spending or my expected retirement spending?

Use your expected retirement spending, which is often somewhat lower than working-years spending (no commuting costs, no retirement contributions) but can be higher in some categories (healthcare, travel). Estimate it directly rather than assuming it equals your current budget.

What does the FIRE number leave out?

This estimate doesn't account for Social Security or pension income (which can reduce the portfolio needed), healthcare cost changes before Medicare eligibility, sequence-of-returns risk (poor market returns early in retirement), or taxes on withdrawals. Treat it as a starting planning number, not a complete retirement plan.

Retirement decision

How much do I need to retire?

Your retirement number comes from one input more than any other: expected annual spending. Here's the 4%-rule math behind the estimate, and how your savings rate changes the number of years it takes to reach it.

The decision in one line

Multiply your expected annual retirement spending by 25 (the inverse of a 4% withdrawal rate) to get a target portfolio number. Then the real question becomes: given your current savings and contribution rate, how many years does it take to reach that number at a reasonable assumed return? Raising your contribution rate is usually the single biggest lever you control directly.

Worked example: $80,000/year spending target

Starting from $150,000 in current savings, at an assumed 7% annual return, comparing two contribution levels:

	$20,000/year contribution	$30,000/year contribution
Target portfolio (25× spending)	$2,000,000	$2,000,000
Estimated years to reach it	24.5 years	21.2 years

A 50% increase in annual contribution ($20,000 to $30,000) cuts more than 3 years off the timeline — the effect is larger than a simple proportional guess would suggest, because the extra contributions also compound over the shortened remaining period. The target number itself doesn't change with contribution rate; only the time to reach it does.

What the 4% rule leaves out

The 25× multiple is a widely cited planning heuristic based on historical U.S. market return studies over rolling 30-year retirement periods — it is not a guarantee, and outcomes were sensitive to the specific sequence of returns in the years right around retirement. It also doesn't account for Social Security, pension income, or pension-like annuities, which can reduce the portfolio you personally need to fund, nor for healthcare costs before Medicare eligibility if retiring early, nor for taxes owed on withdrawals depending on account type.

How to decide

Estimate your expected annual retirement spending as specifically as you can — not your current budget by default.
Multiply by 25 for a starting target, and consider a lower multiple (more conservative) if you're planning a longer-than-30-year retirement (e.g. retiring early).
Run the years-to-target estimate at your actual current savings and contribution rate.
Test how raising your contribution rate — even modestly — changes the timeline; this is usually the lever most within your control.
Layer in expected Social Security or pension income separately to see how it reduces the portfolio target, since the base estimate doesn't include it.

Run your own retirement numbers ↗ Read the FIRE number guide ↗

Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need to retire?: A common starting estimate multiplies your expected annual spending in retirement by 25, based on a 4% initial withdrawal rate assumption. For $70,000 in annual spending, that's roughly $1.75 million. This is a simplified planning heuristic, not a personalized guarantee, and the right multiple for you depends on your withdrawal strategy, expected retirement length, and risk tolerance.
What is the 4% rule?: The 4% rule is a guideline suggesting that withdrawing 4% of your portfolio in the first year of retirement, then adjusting that dollar amount for inflation each year after, has historically had a reasonable chance of lasting 30 years without depleting the portfolio, based on historical U.S. market return studies. It's a planning starting point, not a guarantee — actual safe withdrawal rates depend on market returns during your specific retirement years, portfolio composition, and how long your retirement lasts.
Does a higher savings rate really get me to retirement faster?: Yes, and the effect compounds. A higher annual contribution both grows your portfolio faster and (for a fixed spending target) doesn't change your target number, so the years-to-target shrinks in more than a linear way as your contribution rises relative to your target.
Should I use my current spending or my expected retirement spending?: Use your expected retirement spending, which is often somewhat lower than working-years spending (no commuting costs, no retirement contributions) but can be higher in some categories (healthcare, travel). Estimate it directly rather than assuming it equals your current budget.
What does the FIRE number leave out?: This estimate doesn't account for Social Security or pension income (which can reduce the portfolio needed), healthcare cost changes before Medicare eligibility, sequence-of-returns risk (poor market returns early in retirement), or taxes on withdrawals. Treat it as a starting planning number, not a complete retirement plan.

Source note: Figures above are computed illustrations from entered assumptions, not a financial plan or guarantee. Investment returns are not guaranteed. All calculations happen in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to a server or stored.