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Coast FIRE numbers at 30, 35, 40 and 45

Compare example balances for different retirement ages and spending budgets, then calculate the number for your own plan.

By Coast FIRE Planning · Updated November 10, 2026

A Coast FIRE number estimates how much you need invested now so that growth alone could reach your retirement target. It is not an age-based benchmark everyone should meet. Two people of the same age can have different numbers because their spending, retirement dates, and sources of income differ. If the idea is new, start with what Coast FIRE means.

Assumptions behind these tables

• Retirement spending: $40,000, $60,000, or $80,000 a year in today's dollars, fully supplied by investments. Include taxes paid from withdrawals in that budget.
• Retirement date: age 65 in the first table and age 60 in the second.
• Withdrawal rate: 4% of the starting retirement balance in year one, with later dollar withdrawals rising with inflation.
• Growth before retirement: a constant 5% a year after inflation and investment fees.
• No deposits or withdrawals before retirement. Current living costs come from work or another source, not this invested balance.
• No Social Security, pension, or extra cash reserve. Taxes are not modeled separately by account. These simplified examples do not test the chance that money lasts through retirement.

All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar only after calculation. There is no separate inflation adjustment because both spending and growth use today's purchasing power.

Coast FIRE numbers if you retire at 65

At a 4% withdrawal rate, the retirement targets are $1,000,000 for $40,000 of yearly spending, $1,500,000 for $60,000, and $2,000,000 for $80,000. The table works backward from those targets using 5% real growth.

For the $60,000 budget, an age-30 saver has 35 years for growth. An age-45 saver has 20. With the same spending and return assumptions, the older saver needs more invested today because there is less time to grow.

At 30, 35, 40 and 45: read the number in context

At 30: the estimate has the longest growth runway, but it also depends on spending and returns many decades away. Leave room for life changes rather than treating a low Coast number as a permanent result.

At 35: a $60,000 budget gives a Coast number of $347,066. This is an invested balance, not an annual savings amount. Emergency cash is separate.

At 40: the same plan needs $442,954. Existing savings and future contributions both matter if you are not there yet; a Coast table does not show how quickly new deposits can close the gap.

At 45: the estimate is $565,334. Moving retirement earlier increases it further. That does not mean you are behind; it means the goal and timeline need to be evaluated together.

Coast FIRE numbers if you retire at 60

Retiring five years earlier removes five years of growth. The simple retirement targets stay the same here because we hold the withdrawal rate at 4%. In a fuller plan, a longer retirement may also justify a lower withdrawal rate and a larger target.

For a 35-year-old spending $60,000, moving retirement from 65 to 60 raises the Coast number from $347,066 to $442,954. You would also need to plan for health coverage before Medicare eligibility, generally at 65.

How 5% to 7% real returns and 4% to 5% withdrawal rates change the result

The next table holds age at 35, retirement at 65, and yearly spending at $60,000. It includes a lower 3% real-return case and a lower 3% withdrawal rate so you can see how less favorable assumptions change the estimate.

These rates do different jobs. The real return describes growth before retirement. The withdrawal rate sets the starting retirement target. A 5% return does not establish that a 5% withdrawal rate is sustainable.

Higher returns and higher withdrawal rates both reduce the calculated Coast number, but they do not remove risk. A 7% real return is a more optimistic growth assumption than 5%, not a way to make a shortfall disappear. A 5% initial withdrawal rate is more aggressive than 4%; neither is guaranteed to last, particularly for a long retirement. Test lower returns and lower withdrawal rates too.

Show the math

Load this exact example in the calculator. It opens a one-person scenario with the example balance, no new contributions, no Social Security, and no cash reserve. It replaces saved calculator inputs with these example inputs. Adjust the balance and assumptions to your situation.

How to use these numbers without overreading them

1. Choose a realistic spending budget. Use your total household budget if planning with a partner. Do not double a number that already covers both of you.
2. Count only money available for retirement. Keep emergency savings and money for near-term purchases separate. A home's value is not an invested balance unless the plan explains how it funds spending.
3. Add your other income carefully. Social Security or pensions can reduce what investments must provide, but benefits may start after retirement. Those intervening years still need funding.
4. Check taxes and timing. A dollar in a pre-tax retirement account does not provide the same spendable amount as a tax-free withdrawal. Earlier retirement also needs a plan for accessing accounts.
5. Try more than one scenario. Test lower growth, higher spending, and a later retirement date. Revisit the plan after market changes or major life events.

A steady-growth table cannot show the effect of a market drop near retirement or poor returns while withdrawing. Those are reasons to keep a margin for error, not reasons to choose the most favorable row. Reaching one table value is not a recommendation to stop saving.

What if your balance is below the table?

It means you have not reached this simplified no-more-contributions estimate, not that retirement is out of reach. Continued savings, an employer match, or a different timeline can change the path. Use the next-dollar guide to compare where additional savings could go, then model the contributions in the calculator.

For education only, not investment, tax, or legal advice. Examples are estimates, not forecasts or guarantees.