This calculator helps New Zealanders pursuing financial independence work out their Coast FIRE number, the amount that, once invested, could grow on its own to fund retirement without further contributions, letting you ease off saving and coast. You enter your current investments, expected return, and target retirement age, and the tool shows whether your existing savings are already on track to coast, or how much more you need first. The breakdown projects your balance growing to retirement with no further contributions, showing the gap or surplus against your goal, giving a motivating and increasingly popular milestone that sits between starting out and full financial independence.
Use a real return (after inflation) so the figures are in today dollars. The retirement target is your annual spend divided by the withdrawal rate. This ignores NZ Super, which would reduce the savings you need. Returns are not guaranteed. Estimate only, not financial advice.
Your retirement target is the lump sum that, at your chosen withdrawal rate, funds your annual spending, so it is your spend divided by the withdrawal rate. The Coast FIRE number is the amount you would need invested today to grow to that target by retirement with no further contributions, found by discounting the target back by your expected return over the years remaining. If your current investments already exceed the Coast FIRE number, you are coasting and could stop saving for retirement.
Spending $50,000 a year at a 4% withdrawal rate needs a $1,250,000 target. With 30 years to go at a 5% real return, you would need about $289,000 invested today to coast to that. Someone with $120,000 is not coasting yet, but is on the way, and their balance is projected to grow toward the target on its own.
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