FIRE calculator
See roughly how much you'd need, and when you could get there. Even if you never pull the trigger, knowing the number changes how the job feels.
Updated for the 2026/27 tax year · reviewed
Your FIRE plan
The 25x rule: your FIRE number is annual spending ÷ safe withdrawal rate - at the default 4% that's 25× spending. Pensions usually can't be accessed until 55 today (57 from April 2028), so an early plan often needs a separate ISA or investment pot to bridge the years before that.
Your FIRE number
£750,000
£30,000 annual spending ÷ 4.0% safe withdrawal rate
Time to FI
13 years 11 months
FI date
August 2040
Progress to FI
13.3%
currently invested ÷ FIRE number
Currently invested
£100,000
Trajectory to your FIRE number
How your invested balance climbs towards financial independence.
Your FIRE number is only useful if the money is reachable.
Most UK pots are locked until 55 - 57 from April 2028 - so early retirement depends on an ISA bridge that gets you there. Map your ISA, pension and State Pension together and see whether the bridge holds.
Create your free accountHow this calculator works
Your FIRE number is annual spending divided by your chosen safe withdrawal rate (SWR) - at the default 4% that's the same as the well-known "25x rule": multiply annual spending by 25. A lower SWR (down to 3%) is more cautious and needs a bigger pot; a higher one (up to 5%) needs less but leans on stronger long-run returns.
From your current invested balance and monthly investing, we add growth and contributions month by month until the balance reaches the FIRE number, the same maths as Quidworth's savings-goal calculator. That gives a whole number of months, which becomes the time-to-FI and FI-date figures above.
The 4% (or 3-5%) safe withdrawal rate is a historical guideline, not a promise - it was tested against a specific range of past market conditions and isn't guaranteed for any individual's future. Pension money usually can't be touched until age 55 today (57 from April 2028), so an early retirement plan typically needs a separate ISA or general investment pot to bridge the years before pension access, and the state pension arrives later still.
Questions people ask
What does FIRE mean?
FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early - building enough invested assets that the income they can sustainably generate covers your living costs, so paid work becomes optional. This calculator estimates the pot size and rough timeline based on your savings rate and assumed growth.
What is the 25x rule?
It's a shorthand derived from a 4% safe withdrawal rate: multiply your annual spending by 25 to estimate the pot needed to sustain it indefinitely. It's a starting estimate built on historical data, not a guarantee for any individual's future.
Are there UK-specific catches with FIRE?
Yes - money in a pension usually can't be accessed until age 55 today, rising to 57 from April 2028, so an early retirement plan typically needs a separate ISA or general investment pot to bridge the years before pension access, plus the state pension arriving later still. Tax wrappers and access ages materially change how much you need outside a pension.
Is a 4% withdrawal rate actually safe?
It's a reasonable historical guideline rather than a promise - it was tested against a specific range of past US market conditions, and a lower rate such as 3-3.5% is often used for extra caution, especially for very long retirements. This calculator lets you try different rates so you can see how sensitive the outcome is.
Last reviewed against 2026/27 UK rules. Projections are estimates for education, not financial advice. Understanding your projections.
A calculator answers one question at a time.
The planner keeps all of them next to each other, so an overpayment you model today still shows up in the pension picture in twenty years.
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- Your figures carry over