What is FIRE?
FIRE — Financial Independence, Retire Early — means building an investment corpus large enough that its returns cover your living costs for life. The classic rule: corpus = annual expenses ÷ safe withdrawal rate. At 3.5%, you need roughly 28.6× your yearly spending.
Why inflation changes everything
₹60,000 a month today becomes about ₹1.9 lakh a month in 20 years at 6% inflation. This planner inflates your expenses to the year you retire, and keeps inflating your withdrawals afterwards, so you see a realistic corpus rather than today's-money illusions.
How to read the chart
The blue area is your corpus growing while you invest and then drawn down after retirement. The dashed line is the corpus you would need if you retired at each age — where the blue line crosses it is your earliest retirement age.
Frequently asked questions
What are lean, regular and fat FIRE?
Lean FIRE means a frugal retirement, about 70% of today’s spending. Fat FIRE means a generous one, about 150%. The more you spend in retirement, the more you need. The table shows all three for your numbers.
What is Coast FIRE?
Coast FIRE is the amount that, left alone with no more savings, grows by itself to your retirement corpus. Once you hold that amount, you only need to cover your living costs until you retire. The calculator shows your Coast number for today.
Is the 4% rule safe in India?
The 4% rule comes from US data. With higher inflation in India, many planners prefer 3–3.5%, which is why 3.5% is the default here.
Does this include taxes?
No. Returns are treated as after-tax. Reduce the return assumptions if you expect a significant tax drag. Equity gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year are taxed at 12.5%, and FD interest at your slab rate.
What about healthcare costs?
Medical costs usually rise faster than other prices and are highest late in life. Add a buffer by raising “Retirement spending vs today”, and consider health insurance before you retire.
What about EPF, PPF and NPS?
Add their current balances to 'Investments today' and their contributions to 'Monthly investing' to include them.