Relocation by Numbers

Coast FIRE Calculator

How Much Do You Need Invested Today to Stop Contributing and Still Retire?

Coast FIRE is the point where your current investments are large enough that compound growth alone can carry your portfolio to your full retirement target by your chosen age, even if you stop making new contributions.

Assumptions updated: October 2026
See methodology and data sources
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Answers a different question: do you already have enough that compound growth alone can carry you to retirement without another dollar contributed?

Coast target not reached by age 65

Calculator inputs
Enter your income, spending, and investing assumptions.
COAST FIRE SETTINGS
ABOUT YOU
SAVINGS AND INVESTING
Using defaults: filing single, 401(k) 8%, moderate returns, 4% withdrawal, 2.5% inflation. Saving is estimated from your after-tax income less spending.
How moving could change your timeline
Geography may be one of the most powerful levers in a FIRE plan. Same income, same returns, different cost of living.
Annual: $48,000
Starts equal to your spending now, so a move shows no gain until you enter what you expect to spend in the new place. Pick a state or enter your own figure.
MOVE IMPACT
Current FIRE age (if you stop contributing at the coast age)86
Current FIRE age (if you keep contributing)61
FIRE number after move (at that age, future dollars)$4,783,191
FIRE age after move (same stop-contributing assumption)86
Same timeline
Show dollar amounts in:

Example results from sample inputs. Change any field to see your own numbers.

Projected financial independence at 86 falls beyond an early-retirement timeline. Saving more, spending less or choosing a different target can move it earlier.

Your Coast FIRE status

You need $783,082 invested by age 40 for your portfolio to coast to retirement without new contributions (about $405,597 if you stopped today). At your current pace you do not reach it before age 65; try saving more, a later retirement age or lower spending.

Three paths to retiring at 65
Stop contributing today
$330,597 short
Needs $405,597 invested today to coast to 65.
Stop at age 40
Not reached in time
Needs $783,082 by age 40, then growth alone carries you to 65.
Keep contributing
Full FIRE at 61
Contributions continue until your portfolio covers your spending. This is a different goal from the retirement age above.
Coast FIRE Number
$783,082
Needed by age 40 to coast to retirement at 65
Current Portfolio
$75,000
$330,597 to go to coast from today
Coast Status
Not reached
Coasting at age 40 → retire at 65
Full FIRE Projected Age
61
If you keep contributing past coast age
Progress to Coast FIRE number
18%
$75,000 of $405,597 needed today · 18% there
How this estimate works
Answers a different question: do you already have enough that compound growth alone can carry you to retirement without another dollar contributed?Returns use your selected volatility preset. Inflation and salary growth compound annually, and take-home pay is recalculated each year through the tax engine, with pay growing at the salary-growth rate and the tax brackets, deductions and 401(k) limit indexed to inflation. Each year's saving is added as twelve monthly end-of-month deposits. This is a planning estimate, not financial or tax advice.
Assumptions behind this result

Replace sample values with your own numbers. Planning assumptions are the site's starting estimates; change them in the settings if you have a view.

  • Age30Sample value
  • Annual gross income$90,000Sample value
  • StateNYSample value
  • Monthly spending now$4,000Sample value
  • Invested portfolio$75,000Sample value
  • Withdrawal rate4%Planning assumption
  • Inflation2.5%Planning assumption
  • Salary growth3%Planning assumption
  • Investment returnsmoderate (7% then 5.5%)Planning assumption

Planning assumption · Sample value. Planning assumptions are the site's starting estimates, not quotes or forecasts. Sample values are placeholders until you enter your own.

Where to go next
  1. Step 1
    Compare a move

    See what a city or state change does to rent, taxes and take-home pay.

    Compare cities →
  2. Step 2
    See the FIRE impact

    Rank cities by how much sooner they could get you to FIRE.

    Best cities for FIRE →
  3. Step 3
    Plan it in detail

    Model withdrawals, taxes and Social Security year by year (Beta).

    Complete Retirement Plan →
Decision engine

Your fastest path to Coast FIRE

You're not projected to reach your goal under these assumptions. Here are the changes that would reduce your coast timeline the most.

Your goal is not reached under these assumptions

None of the tested changes got you there either. Try saving more each year, spending less, a later target age, or a higher income, and check how the projection responds.

These are planning estimates, not guarantees. Small changes in return assumptions, taxes, and future spending can materially change the result.

In plain terms, Coast FIRE means your portfolio has reached escape velocity. You still need enough income to cover your current lifestyle, but you no longer need to keep aggressively investing for traditional retirement if your assumptions hold.

How Coast FIRE actually works

Coast FIRE is based on present value. Instead of asking how much you need at retirement, it asks how much you need invested today so that compounding alone grows your portfolio to that future target.

The basic idea is: full future FIRE target ÷ expected compounded growth over the years remaining until retirement = Coast FIRE number today. Once your portfolio reaches that number, additional contributions become optional rather than required under the model.

What changes your Coast FIRE number most

Years until retirement

The more time compounding has to work, the smaller the Coast FIRE number you need today.

Investment return assumption

Small changes in expected return can shift the Coast FIRE number materially because the model depends heavily on long-term compounding.

Full FIRE target

Your Coast FIRE number depends on the full retirement number you eventually need, so higher expected retirement spending raises the target.

Living costs today

Once you hit Coast FIRE, you still need enough earned income to cover your current life until retirement actually begins.

Who Coast FIRE is usually best for

Coast FIRE is often attractive for people who want to reduce work pressure before reaching full traditional FIRE. It can be a strong fit for someone who wants flexibility, career optionality, or the ability to shift into lower-stress work while still letting investments compound in the background.

It is usually most useful for people who already have a meaningful investment base and enough time left before retirement for compounding to matter.

What this calculator includes, and what it does not

Included

  • Coast FIRE milestone logic
  • Portfolio growth projection
  • Return-based target modeling
  • Comparison against a future FIRE target

Not fully modeled

  • Sequence-of-returns risk in detail
  • Changing tax treatment over decades
  • Every market-cycle scenario
  • Your future spending changes with perfect precision

This tool is built for planning direction, not certainty. Coast FIRE is highly sensitive to long-term assumptions, so the output is most useful as a scenario-planning estimate.

Frequently asked questions about Coast FIRE

What is Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE is the point where your invested portfolio is large enough that compound growth alone can grow to your full retirement target by a chosen age, even without additional contributions.
How do I calculate my Coast FIRE number?
Your Coast FIRE number is the present value of your future FIRE target, discounted back from your retirement age using your expected annual return.
How is Coast FIRE different from regular FIRE?
Regular FIRE means you already have enough to fund retirement fully. Coast FIRE is an earlier milestone where compounding can do the rest, but you still need earned income for current living costs.
How do I use this calculator to model Coast FIRE?
Enter your current portfolio, expected return, and full retirement target. Then reduce annual contributions to zero and check whether growth alone reaches the target by your chosen retirement age.
What investment return should I use for Coast FIRE?
Many people use 5% to 7% as a planning range, but even small changes in the return assumption can materially change the result because Coast FIRE depends heavily on long compounding periods.
Can moving to a cheaper city help me reach Coast FIRE sooner?
Yes. Lower living costs can reduce your full future FIRE number, which lowers the Coast FIRE number as well. Lower expenses can also make it easier to cover current life once you stop contributing aggressively.

Explore related FIRE and relocation tools

FIRE calculator →Barista FIRE →Lean FIRE →Chubby FIRE →Fat FIRE →Compare cities →Explore all tools →

Sources and limits

Tax figures come from IRS and state government publications (2026 rules, checked October 13, 2026). Written and maintained by Relocation By Numbers. Sources and limits reviewed October 13, 2026. Found a mistake? Tell us in the feedback box below. Full methodology

Sources

Savings, returns, inflation, spending and withdrawal rate are your assumptions.

Not included

  • Taxes use a simplified state-specific model, not a filing-ready return.
  • Wages only: no self-employment, investment, capital-gain or other non-wage income.
  • Standard deduction only; no itemized deductions, tax credits (dependents, education, earned income and others) or alternative minimum tax.
  • Single and married-filing-jointly only; no head of household or married filing separately.
  • Planning estimates, not guarantees; taxes, assumptions and future spending can change the result.

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