Coast FIRE: When Can You Stop Saving for Retirement?

# Coast FIRE: When Can You Stop Saving for Retirement? Coast FIRE is the milestone where you have enough invested that — even if you stop contributing today — compounding will grow your portfolio to your target corpus by retirement age. You can then "coast" to retirement. ## The Calculation **Coast FIRE number = Target corpus at retirement / (1 + r)^(years to retirement)** Example: - Target corpus at 60: ₹5 crore - Current age: 35 (25 years to retirement) - Expected return: 10% - Coast FIRE number: ₹5Cr / (1.10)^25 = ₹1.84 crore If you have ₹1.84 crore invested today and stop all contributions, you will have ₹5 crore at 60 (assuming 10% CAGR). ## Why It Matters Coast FIRE is a psychological milestone as much as a financial one. Once you hit it, you no longer need to grow your retirement corpus — any additional savings go to current lifestyle, earlier retirement, or other goals. ## The Catch Coast FIRE assumes a constant return rate. Real returns vary. The calculation also ignores inflation — your ₹5 crore target in today's money may be worth ₹8–10 crore in nominal terms 25 years from now. Always model in real returns. ## Practical Use Freedom's Coast FIRE calculator takes your current corpus, target retirement corpus, expected real return, and current age to tell you: (a) have you already hit Coast FIRE, (b) when you will hit it at current savings rate.