Coast FIRE
By Jude Wallis
Coast FIRE is the point at which savings already invested would compound into a retirement target by the chosen date without any further contributions.
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It is a comparison of two numbers rather than a lifestyle. The target comes from annual spending and a withdrawal rate: spend divided by the rate. The other number is what is already invested, grown forward at an assumed return for the years remaining. When the second reaches the first, the gap closes and contributions become optional.
Coasting is not retiring. Income is still needed for current spending, and the plan depends on the assumed return holding over decades of compound interest. A return assumption a point too high moves the coast date years earlier than the arithmetic supports.
The coast FIRE calculator shows target, grown value and gap together. How FIRE numbers work builds the target and safe withdrawal rates is where the withdrawal percent comes from.