Coast FIRE
Coast FIRE is the level of current assets that — even with zero new contributions — will grow to your retirement target by the time you retire, assuming a steady investment return. You still need income to cover living expenses until retirement, but the retirement savings job is done.
Formula: Coast FIRE number = retirement target ÷ (1 + expected return)^years until retirement.
Related: FIRE variants explained — Lean, Fat, Barista, Coast FIRE differences.
Frequently asked
- How is Coast FIRE different from regular FIRE?
- FIRE means you can retire today — passive income covers all expenses. Coast FIRE means you can stop saving for retirement, but you still need a job to cover present-day expenses. Coast FIRE is typically reached 10-15 years before regular FIRE.
- How is the Coast FIRE number calculated?
- Coast FIRE = retirement target ÷ (1 + expected annual return)^years until retirement. Example: target NT$15M, age 35, retire at 60 (25 years), 7% nominal return → threshold ≈ 15M / 1.07^25 ≈ NT$2.76M.
- What return rate should I use?
- Use 3-5% real return (after inflation) or 5-7% nominal. The S&P 500 has historically returned 9-10% nominal / 6-7% real with reinvested dividends, but a conservative 5% nominal (~2-3% real) gives a safety margin.
- What do I do after I reach Coast FIRE?
- Three common paths: (1) stop retirement contributions and redirect cash to lifestyle, family, hobbies; (2) keep investing to accelerate toward full FIRE; (3) downshift to a lower-paying but more enjoyable role (Barista FIRE). Coast FIRE gives you optionality — it doesn't require you to stop saving.
- How does inflation affect Coast FIRE?
- Use a real (after-inflation) return rate so your target can be expressed in today's purchasing power, with no further inflation adjustment. If you use a nominal return, make sure the retirement target is also in nominal (future) dollars.
- Does this tool store my inputs?
- No. All math runs in your browser. Nothing is sent or persisted.