FIRE Calculator for Tech Employees

Enter your current savings, how much you invest each year, and what you plan to spend in retirement. The calculator tells you your FI number, which FIRE tier you're targeting, and — if you're not there yet — exactly how many years until you can stop working.

What is the FIRE number?

Your FI number — the portfolio balance that lets you stop working — is determined by your safe withdrawal rate. At a 4% SWR, your FI number is 25× your annual spending. At 3.5%, it's approximately 28.6× annual spending.

The "25× rule" traces back to financial planner William Bengen's 1994 research and the 1998 Trinity Study, which backtested portfolio survival across every historical 30-year retirement window from 1926 forward.¹ Both found that a 4% inflation-adjusted withdrawal rate survived 95%+ of 30-year periods for stock-heavy portfolios. A 4% withdrawal rate is fine if you're retiring at 65 with a 30-year horizon. If you're 35 with a 50-year horizon, researchers and FIRE practitioners generally recommend 3–3.5% to account for sequence-of-returns risk over longer periods.²

FIRE tiers: which camp are you in?

The FIRE community — concentrated heavily in tech — uses informal spending tiers to describe different flavors of early retirement:

Most senior tech employees earning $300K–$600K+ target ChubbyFIRE or FatFIRE — they're accustomed to spending at a level that requires a meaningful portfolio to sustain. That's not a problem if you're also saving at 40–60% of a large income. The question is how your equity comp acceleration (RSU vest timing, ESPP, startup liquidity events) interacts with the timeline.

Why tech compensation changes the FIRE timeline

Tech comp is volatile in a way that meaningfully changes FIRE math:

• RSU vest acceleration: A 4-year vest cliff plus refreshers can create $100–300K+ of investable proceeds in a single year. If you model a flat savings rate but your RSUs double in value, your actual FIRE date could be 3–5 years earlier than the calculator suggests.
• Equity concentration risk: If 60% of your "investable assets" is in one stock (your employer), the calculator overstates your real safety margin. $2M of concentrated single-stock exposure is not the same as $2M of diversified index funds. See our concentrated stock guide for diversification strategies.
• HCOL home equity: Exclude your primary home from investable assets. A $3M home in the Bay Area isn't a retirement-income-producing asset unless you sell it or reverse mortgage it.
• Career-change optionality: Many tech workers pursue "barista FIRE" — leaving a high-stress job for part-time or freelance work that covers $40–60K/year, letting their invested portfolio grow untouched. This dramatically accelerates FIRE even at ChubbyFIRE spending levels.

Tax-efficient retirement for early retirees

Early retirement creates a tax planning opportunity that most advisors don't emphasize: the gap years between leaving work and drawing Social Security or RMDs are often extremely low-income years, which unlocks favorable tax treatment.

• 0% long-term capital gains: In retirement, a married couple with income below the 15% LTCG threshold pays zero federal tax on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends. If your taxable brokerage account is your primary drawdown vehicle, careful income management can result in almost no federal tax owed.
• Roth conversion ladder: During low-income gap years, convert traditional IRA/401(k) dollars to Roth at low marginal rates. After 5 years, those converted dollars can be withdrawn penalty-free at any age — bypassing the 59½ rule entirely.
• IRS Rule 72(t) SEPP: If you need to access retirement accounts before 59½ and the Roth ladder isn't fully built yet, substantially equal periodic payments (SEPP) allow penalty-free early withdrawals. You must commit to the schedule for at least 5 years or until age 59½, whichever is later.³
• HSA as medical bridge: A fully-invested HSA at $200–400K can cover healthcare costs before Medicare at 65, tax-free. See our HSA strategy guide for how to build this intentionally.

Account sequencing for FIRE

Which accounts to draw from first matters for taxes and longevity. A common framework for early retirees:

1. Taxable brokerage first — enables LTCG harvesting during low-income gap years, no early withdrawal penalties.
2. Roth contributions (not earnings) — always available penalty-free. Use contributions first, leave earnings to compound.
3. Roth conversion ladder — conversions made 5+ years ago are now accessible.
4. 72(t) SEPP — if needed to bridge before the Roth ladder is fully built.
5. Traditional IRA/401(k) after 59½ — let these compound untouched as long as possible; RMDs begin at 73 (or 75 if born 1960+, per SECURE 2.0).

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