Coast FIRE Calculator Canada

To use the Coast FIRE calculator in Canada, enter your age, your target retirement age, the yearly spending your investments must cover, and your current RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered balances. The calculator shows your Coast FIRE number: the amount you need invested today so compound growth alone funds your retirement.

1. Enter your Current Age.
2. Set your Retirement Age. Old Age Security (OAS) starts at 65, and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) can start any time from 60 to 70. Most Canadians plan around 60 to 65.
3. Enter Annual Spending in Retirement in today's dollars. Subtract the CPP and OAS income you expect. Your CPP estimate is in your My Service Canada Account. Quebec residents should use their Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) estimate.
4. Enter Current Invested Assets. Add your RRSP, TFSA, FHSA if you'll keep it for retirement, defined contribution pension, LIRA, and non-registered investments.
5. Enter your Monthly contribution. Include employer pension matching and group RRSP contributions.
6. Check Advanced Settings. The Bank of Canada targets 2% inflation, in a 1% to 3% control range. A 2.5% inflation input gives a small buffer above target.

How to read your results

• Coast FIRE number: the amount you need invested now.
• Progress: your current balance as a share of the Coast FIRE number.
• FIRE Nest Egg: the full portfolio you need at retirement, in today's dollars.
• Coast Age: the age at which you can stop contributing.
• Cash Freed: the yearly saving you get back once you coast.
• Real Return: your growth rate after inflation.

Enter every amount in Canadian dollars. The math does not depend on currency.

---

The calculator divides your retirement spending by your safe withdrawal rate to get a target nest egg, then discounts that target by your after-inflation return for each year until retirement. The discounted figure is your Coast FIRE number.

The formula

FIRE Nest Egg     = Annual Spending ÷ Safe Withdrawal Rate
Real Return (r)   = (1 + Growth Rate) ÷ (1 + Inflation Rate) − 1
Coast FIRE Number = FIRE Nest Egg ÷ (1 + r)^Years

Worked example

Priya is 30, lives in Ontario, and plans to retire at 65. She expects to spend C$62,000 a year and receive about C$22,000 from CPP and OAS combined, so her portfolio must cover C$40,000.

1. FIRE Nest Egg: C$40,000 ÷ 0.04 = C$1,000,000
2. Real Return: 1.07 ÷ 1.025 − 1 = 4.39%
3. Growth factor over 35 years: 4.499
4. Coast FIRE number: C$1,000,000 ÷ 4.499 = C$222,281

Priya has C$75,000 across her TFSA and RRSP, which is 34% of her number. Investing C$1,000 a month, she reaches Coast FIRE at age 49. Retiring at 60 instead raises her Coast FIRE number to C$275,551, since her money gets five fewer years to compound.

Factors that change your result

• Taxes. RRSP and RRIF withdrawals are taxable income. TFSA withdrawals are tax-free. Enter gross spending if most of your savings sit in an RRSP.
• OAS clawback. The OAS recovery tax reduces OAS for higher-income retirees. Count only the OAS you expect to keep.
• RRIF minimums. RRSPs must convert to a RRIF by the end of the year you turn 71, and RRIFs have required minimum withdrawals.
• Fees. Canadian mutual funds often charge 1.5% to 2% MER. Subtract fees from your growth rate.
• Rounding. Results are rounded to whole dollars, contributions are added yearly, and Coast Age is shown in whole years.

---