What is a Coast FIRE number by age?
Your Coast FIRE number at a given age is how much you need invested by then so that, without saving another dollar, your money grows into enough to retire. The younger you are, the smaller it is, because your money has more years to compound. The table above shows it for common ages.
How the table works
Every number comes from the same engine as our Coast FIRE calculator. Each cell starts with the amount you'd need on the day you retire, then works back to today at the return you pick.
Coast FIRE number = (yearly spending ÷ 4%) ÷ (1 + r) ^ (retirement age − age today)The table uses $50,000 a year of spending, so the amount you need at retirement is $1,250,000. r is your yearly return after inflation.
Read across a row to see how much retiring later helps, and down a column to see how much it costs to start later. Each extra five years of growth at 5% shrinks the number by about a fifth.
Adjusting it to your spending
With no Social Security or pension in the picture, the number scales with spending. If you plan to spend $25,000 a year, halve the figure. At $100,000, double it. Once a pension or Social Security comes in, that shortcut stops working, because the income covers part of your spending for only part of your retirement. The calculator handles that case.
The CSV download
The download covers every age from 20 to 60, every retirement age from 40 to 70, and real returns from 3% to 7%. Same assumptions as the table: $50,000 of spending, a 4% withdrawal rate, a plan that runs to 95, no income, no fees and no tax.
Three worked examples
Example 1: how much you need at 30
A 30-year-old wants to retire at 60 and spend $50,000 a year. They expect 5% a year after inflation.
| Age today | 30 |
|---|---|
| Retire at | 60 |
| Spending per year | $50,000 |
| Return after inflation | 5% |
| FIRE number at 60 | $1,250,000 |
|---|---|
| Coast FIRE number today | $289,222 |
$289,222 invested at 30 grows to $1,250,000 by 60 at 5% a year, with nothing added. It's the number in the 30 row and the retire at 60 column of the 5% table.
Example 2: starting at 40 with a smaller budget
A 40-year-old plans to retire at 65 on $40,000 a year, also at 5%.
| Age today | 40 |
|---|---|
| Retire at | 65 |
| Spending per year | $40,000 |
| Return after inflation | 5% |
| FIRE number at 65 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Coast FIRE number today | $295,303 |
Even with a budget a fifth smaller and retiring five years later, they need slightly more today than the 30-year-old: $295,303. Their money gets 25 years to grow instead of 30, and those five lost years cost more than the smaller budget saves.
Example 3: the same 30-year-old, counting Social Security
Back to the 30-year-old from the first example. This time they expect $24,000 a year of Social Security from 67, after tax and in today's dollars.
| Age today | 30 |
|---|---|
| Retire at | 60 |
| Spending per year | $50,000 |
| Social Security | $24,000 a year from 67 |
| FIRE number at 60 | $807,252 |
|---|---|
| Coast FIRE number today | $186,780 |
Social Security covers almost half their budget from 67, so the target at 60 drops to $807,252 and the Coast number to $186,780. The table can't show this, which is why your own number may be well below it.
What the table tells you
- Your twenties count for the most. Money invested at 25 has more than three decades to grow before a typical retirement, so at 5% each dollar then grows to more than twice what a dollar invested at 45 would.
- Retiring a few years later is a strong lever. Moving from 60 to 65 cuts the number by about a fifth at 5%, without changing your budget at all.
- The return matters more the younger you are. Over 35 years, the gap between 4% and 6% roughly doubles the number. Over 10 years it's far smaller.
- Past about 50, Coast FIRE starts to look like ordinary retirement saving. There are too few years left for growth to do most of the work.
If you're below the number for your age
Most people are, and it doesn't mean the plan is off. The table answers a narrow question: could you stop saving today? If you're still putting money away, the real question is when you can stop, and that's what the calculator works out from your current savings rate. Someone at half their number who saves steadily may reach it within a few years.
There are three ways to close the gap, and the table shows two of them. Moving one column to the right means retiring later. Picking a lower spending figure means scaling the whole table down. The third is to keep saving for a while longer, which no static table can show. Small changes to each usually add up faster than a big change to one.
If you're already above it
Then you could, in principle, stop saving for retirement today and let your money grow, as long as your paycheck covers your bills until you retire. Many people keep saving anyway as a cushion against a bad decade in the markets. Others use the freedom to switch to lower-paid work they enjoy more.
Why other tables show different numbers
- Inflation. Some tables use a 7% return and subtract 3% inflation, which is close to but not the same as a 4% real return. Others forget to adjust spending for inflation at all.
- Spending. A table built on $40,000 a year will show numbers 20% lower than this one. Check what budget a table assumes before comparing.
- Withdrawal rate. Using 3.5% instead of 4% raises every number by about 14%. Early retirees often choose the lower rate.
- Income. Tables almost never include Social Security or a pension. In the third example above, Social Security lowers the number by about a third.
What this table doesn't show
- Your own situation. It assumes no savings added and no money taken out until you retire. To include what you already save each year, use the calculator.
- Social Security, pensions or a partner. Each of these changes the number in ways a single table can't capture.
- Bad timing. A steady return is a simplification. A crash in the years before you retire can leave you short even if you were on track.
- Taxes and fees. Both are set to zero here. The calculator lets you add them.
Common questions
How much do I need invested at 30 to Coast FIRE?
It depends on your budget and when you want to retire. For $50,000 a year from 60 at a 5% real return, find the 30 row and the retire at 60 column in the table. For a different budget, scale it or use the calculator.
Is the return before or after inflation?
After inflation, and all amounts are in today's dollars. A 5% real return is roughly 8% before inflation if prices rise 3% a year.
Why does the table stop at 55?
At older ages there are only a few years left for your money to grow, so the Coast idea matters less. The CSV goes up to 60 if you want more.
Can I use this table outside the US?
The math is the same anywhere, but the numbers are in US dollars. For local pensions and currency, use the Canada or UK version of the calculator.
Can I reuse the data?
Yes. Download the CSV and use it however you like. A link back to this page is appreciated.
Sources
- Cooley, Philip L., Carl M. Hubbard and Daniel T. Walz. "Retirement Savings: Choosing a Withdrawal Rate That Is Sustainable." AAII Journal, February 1998. Usually called the Trinity study.
- Jeske, Karsten (Early Retirement Now). The Safe Withdrawal Rate Series. earlyretirementnow.com/safe-withdrawal-rate-series
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