FIRE & Retire · Independence

Financial Independence Calculator — How soon are you free?

Your savings rate is the single biggest lever on financial independence. See how many years stand between you and FI.

What you enter

  • Take-home income
  • Annual expenses
  • Current investments
  • Expected return
  • Withdrawal rate

How this is calculated

Your savings rate — the share of take-home income you invest — determines the timeline. We compute annual savings (income minus expenses), your FI number (expenses ÷ withdrawal rate), and simulate the portfolio growing until it crosses that number.

Common questions

Why is savings rate more important than income?

Because it works both ends: saving more grows the portfolio faster and proves you need less to live on, which shrinks the target. At a 10% savings rate FI takes ~50 years from zero; at 50%, ~17; at 65%, ~10 — nearly regardless of income level.

What counts as expenses for the FI number?

Your expected annual spending in retirement — often different from today's (no commute, maybe no mortgage, more travel). Use retirement spending for the target and current spending for the savings rate; this calculator uses one figure for both as a simplification.

Does financial independence mean retiring?

No — it means work becomes optional. Many people at FI keep working by choice, change careers, or go part-time. The number buys the choice, not a particular lifestyle.

How does it rank?

Once you have your result, see how your number compares against your demographic with our full money rank — by age, sex, state and household composition.

Methodology & data

INDICATIVE · 4% RULE. Australian context, FY 2026–27 tax brackets by default (15% lowest marginal rate from 1 July 2026) with a financial-year selector on tax calculators. Calculations are indicative and based on simplified public models — not personal financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer.

Primary data sources

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