Retirement Countdown

Weeks of work left, plus the honest part: what your current savings pace projects at your target age, and the gap to your number.

Your age today

Target retirement age

Retirement savings today ($)

Monthly contribution ($)

Growth (after inflation %) Real = after inflation. US stocks 1926–2024: ~7% real; 60/40 ≈ 5.5%; sequence risk means your personal number varies, this is a pace check, not a forecast.

Annual spend in retirement ($)

FIRE number = annual spend × 25 (the 4% rule): a 25-year retirement horizon where year-1 spending is 4% of assets. 30-year retirements → 30× is the safer number; the tool shows both.

—weeks of work left

—hours of work left (40 h/wk)

—projected nest egg at target age

—FIRE number (25× and 30×)

—pace vs target, the honest answer

—monthly contribution to hit FIRE on time

How the math works

Weeks left = (target − age) × 52.18; work-hours = weeks × 40 (34 → 60: 1,357 weeks, ~54,000 hours, the number that makes "one more year" concrete).
Projection = saved × (1+r)^y + monthly × 12 × [((1+r)^y − 1)/r] (annuity formula, contributions at year-end; monthly compounding adds ~0.5%, year-end approximation is within rounding).
4% rule / FIRE: 25× annual spend supports a 25–30 yr horizon (Boglehead 3-sigma studies; 4.0–4.5% sustainable withdrawal, sequence risk front-loaded). 30× = 3.33% withdrawal, the 35-year-hedge many FIRE calculators use.
Required contribution solves the same annuity: (FIRE − saved×(1+r)^y) × r / 12 / ((1+r)^y − 1). If the number exceeds 25% of take-home, the lever is age, spend, or the 45% employer-match question, the tool prints the gap, not a pep talk.
Social Security: the projection is savings-only. Claiming at 67 (retirement-age tool) adds ~$1,700–2,600/mo inflation-indexed, which the FIRE math treats as a spend reduction, that cuts the FIRE number by 20–35% for many two-income households.

Real-return uncertainty: sequence of returns can swing 10-year outcomes ±25%. No healthcare costs pre-65 (US: +$800–1,400/mo family premium gap), no taxes modeled (Roth/401k withdrawals differ), no inflation of your spend. This is a pace tool, a CFP with your full tax picture is the real answer.

Frequently asked

How many weeks of work are left?

(Retirement age − current age) × 52.18. At 34 aiming for 60: 1,357 weeks, about 54,300 hours at 40/week. Seeing the number in weeks is the whole point: 26 years = 1,357, and each year burns 52.

What is the 4% rule for retirement?

Year 1 withdraw 4% of assets, index for inflation; historically survives 30-year retirements (the Trinity/Boglehead studies). Inverse = the FIRE number: annual spend × 25. Long retirements use 3.33% (30×).

How much should I save monthly to retire at 55?

Plug age 55, your spend, and 7%: the tool solves the required monthly at your starting balance. Typical 34 → 55 case with $120k saved and $60k spend: ~$2,600/mo, the gap is the plan, not the mood.