Coast FIRE
Having enough invested that growth alone reaches the target by retirement age, with no further contributions.
Coast FIRE is the point where the existing balance, compounded to the target retirement date, reaches the number on its own. Contributions can stop; the balance simply cannot be withdrawn from.
The threshold arrives earlier than most people expect because it depends on time remaining rather than on the target itself. $250,000 at age 30 compounds to roughly $1.9M by 60 at 7% real, which covers a $76,000 annual spending level at 4%.
Two conditions carry the whole result. The return has to be real rather than nominal, since the target is denominated in today's spending, and the horizon has to hold. Recalculating at 45 with a 15-year runway rather than 30 produces a very different number from the same balance.
Worked through
$250k at Age 30, 7% Real Return
| Age | Portfolio Value |
|---|---|
| Age 30 | $250,000 |
| Age 40 | $491,787 |
| Age 50 | $967,421 |
| Age 60 | $1,903,064 |
Where this lives in Promi
Investing page. The FIRE calculator models the Coast variant.
See your own coast fire
Promi computes this from your linked accounts, with the definition one click from the number.
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