FIRE calculator: when you can retire early, with the 59½ rules counted

Your FIRE number with tax and health insurance until Medicare, and the earliest age at which your money is both large enough and reachable without the 10 % penalty.

Built on 2026 IRS, HealthCare.gov and state rules · How we calculate · Who publishes this

You can retire at

age 50

The plain 25× rule says age 49. The difference is tax, health insurance to 65 and money you cannot reach before 59½.

FIRE number, tax and health included	$1,635,257
Plain 25× number	$1,500,000
Savings at that age	$1,739,909
10 % penalties in the bridge	$0
Rule of 55 on the last 401(k)	no

Social Security is left out: count it as a margin, not as income. Not personal financial advice.

How this is computed

Where each year’s money comes from, until Medicare at 65 (today’s dollars)
Age	Spending + health	Taken from	Tax	10 %	Left in total
50	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,756,344
51	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,773,601
52	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,791,722
53	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,810,748
54	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,830,725
55	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,851,701
56	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,873,726
57	$67,200	Taxable account $67,200	$0	$0	$1,896,853
58	$67,200	Taxable account $29,929 · Roth contributions $37,271	$0	$0	$1,921,135
59	$67,200	Roth contributions $67,200	$0	$0	$1,946,632
60	$67,200	401(k) of last employer $74,833	$7,633	$0	$1,965,389
61	$67,200	401(k) of last employer $74,833	$7,633	$0	$1,985,083
62	$67,200	401(k) of last employer $74,833	$7,633	$0	$2,005,762
63	$67,200	401(k) of last employer $74,833	$7,633	$0	$2,027,475
64	$67,200	401(k) of last employer $74,833	$7,633	$0	$2,050,274

Rule of 55Leave your job in the year you turn 55 or later: that employer's 401(k) pays out with no 10 %.72(t) paymentsFixed yearly payments from an IRA at any age; up to 5.54 % interest for a first payment in November 2026.Roth ladderConvert each year, spend each conversion five tax years later.457(b)A governmental 457(b) owes no 10 % at any age once you leave.

A FIRE number is usually spending divided by a 4 % withdrawal rate, 25 times what you spend. That is where most calculators stop, and it leaves three costs out. Withdrawals from a 401(k) or a traditional IRA are taxed: on $60,000 of spending with most savings pre-tax, a single filer needs about $2,306 more each year for federal tax in 2026, which adds $57,651 to the target. Health insurance has to be bought until Medicare at 65: twenty years of a $7,200 premium is worth $94,214 at the start. And money in pre-tax accounts carries a 10 % additional tax before age 59½ unless the rule of 55, a 72(t) series, a Roth conversion ladder or a governmental 457(b) opens it. The calculator above applies those rules year by year. With its default figures, the plain 25× rule says age 49; once tax, health and access are counted, the answer is 50.

Read the full answer

Why 25 times your spending is not your FIRE number

The 4 % rule comes from research on 30-year retirements that started at 65 and drew from a mixed portfolio. It says nothing about who owns the money, how it is taxed or when the law lets it out. For someone stopping at 45 with most savings in a 401(k), those three questions decide more than the withdrawal rate does.

Tax. A dollar in a traditional 401(k) is not a dollar to spend. In 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for a married couple, then the brackets start at 10 % and 12 % (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Long-term gains from a taxable account are taxed at 0 % up to $49,450 of taxable income for a single filer. Early retirees often pay little tax, but rarely none, and the amount depends on the mix of accounts.

Health insurance. Medicare starts at 65 (Medicare.gov). Before that, coverage comes from COBRA for up to 18 months at as much as 102 % of the full premium, from a spouse's employer, or from the Marketplace. The premium tax credit depends on the income you report, which an early retiree partly chooses: a single person with $40,000 of income in 2026 and a $700 benchmark premium gets $413 a month of credit. Above 400 % of the poverty line, the credit stops entirely.

Access. The IRS lists the exceptions to the 10 % additional tax on early distributions (irs.gov). Four of them build a retirement bridge: separation from service in or after the year you turn 55, substantially equal periodic payments, Roth contributions and seasoned conversions, and the governmental 457(b), which owes no 10 % at all. The rest (disability, medical bills, a first home) help in a crisis, not in a plan.

Which account opens when

IRS exceptions table, Publication 575, Publication 590-B and Topic 558, read October 15, 2026.
Account	Before 59½ without the 10 %	Taxed when withdrawn
Taxable brokerage and cash	any time	gains only, often at 0 %
Roth IRA contributions	any time	no
Roth conversions	five tax years after each one	no (taxed at conversion)
Governmental 457(b)	after you leave the employer	yes
401(k) or 403(b) of the job you leave	if you leave in or after the year you turn 55	yes
Older 401(k)s and IRAs	through a 72(t) series	yes

The order matters as much as the amounts. The bridge spends taxable money and Roth contributions first, then the accounts the rules open one after the other. A person retiring at 50 with everything in a 401(k) has two options: a 72(t) series, which fixes a yearly amount for at least five years, or a conversion ladder, which needs five years of other money before the first rung can be spent. In the default case above, choosing the ladder moves the earliest age to 50.

The rate for a 72(t) series changes every month. For a first payment in November 2026, the highest rate allowed is 5.54 %: the greater of 5 % and 120 % of the federal mid-term rate of the two months before (monthly table).

Your FIRE number

FIRE numberThe 25× number plus federal tax on withdrawals and premiums until Medicare
Coast FIREThe balance that grows to your FIRE number alone, and the bridge it must fund before 59½
Barista FIREPart-time pay covers part of the budget: a smaller number, and a health question
Lean vs fat FIRELean, comfortable and fat budgets side by side, with the tax each one really pays
4 % ruleA rule built on 30-year retirements, tested against the 50 years of an early exit
Sequence of returnsSame average return, opposite order: why the first years of retirement decide the rest
How much to retireFrom a monthly budget to the savings it takes, tax and health premiums counted
When can I retire?Years to financial independence, and what moves the date
Early retirement calculatorThe earliest age once tax, health and the 59½ rules are applied
Retire at 55Rule of 55 on the last 401(k), 4½ years to 59½, 10 to Medicare
Retire at 50No rule of 55 yet: 72(t), a Roth ladder or taxable savings
How much to saveYour savings rate sets the number of working years
Savings by ageThe balance that puts you on track for your own target
How long will my money last?Years of withdrawals by rate and return, up to a 50-year horizon
What FIRE meansThe FIRE movement in practice: savings rate, 2026 account limits, saving order and the bridge to 59½
2026 contribution limits401(k), IRA and HSA limits, and which account opens before 59½

Money before 59½

Rule of 55Leave at 55 or later and take your last 401(k) without the 10 %
Public safety at 50Police, firefighters, controllers: no 10 % from age 50 or 25 years of service
72(t) calculatorThe three IRS methods, this month’s top rate and the lock date
72(t) interest rateThe highest rate allowed for a series starting each month of 2026
72(t) modificationWhat breaks a 72(t) series, and the recapture tax it brings back
401(k) withdrawal penaltyThe 10 % on top of income tax, the 20 % withheld and the bill at filing
401(k) early withdrawal calculatorHow much to take out to keep the cash you need, after the 10 % and tax
IRA early withdrawal penaltyThe 10 % on an IRA before 59½, the IRA-only exceptions and the 25 % SIMPLE trap
Penalty exceptionsEvery way out of the 10 % before 59½, plan by plan, with caps and code sections
When can you draw a 401(k)The first month each account pays you without the 10 %
How to withdraw from a 401(k)The request, the 20 % withheld, the 1099-R and the gap at tax time
Roth conversion ladderOne conversion a year, each free five tax years later
Roth IRA withdrawal rulesContributions, then conversions oldest first, then earnings
457(b) early withdrawalGovernmental 457(b): no 10 % at any age, except on money rolled in
Early retirement bridgeThe money you can reach before 59½, and the years it has to cover

Health cover to 65

Health insurance before MedicareMarketplace coverage and the premium credit until 65
ACA subsidy cliffThe 400 % line, household by household, and how to stay under it
COBRA vs MarketplaceKeep the work plan at full cost, or switch to a credited Marketplace plan

Tax on withdrawals

Tax on a 401(k) withdrawal2026 brackets on your payout, marginal and average rate
0 % capital gainsGains you can sell tax-free in 2026, given your other income
State tax on early withdrawalsEleven states compared, plus the ones with no income tax

Before you hand in your notice

Check what your plan allows after you leave

The tax code allows a penalty-free payout under the rule of 55; it does not oblige your plan to make partial payments. Some plans let a former employee take any amount at any time, others pay only a lump sum or fixed installments. A lump sum lands on one tax return and can push the whole balance through the 22 % and 24 % brackets. Read the summary plan description before you give notice, and ask the administrator in writing. If partial withdrawals are not allowed, rolling part of the balance to an IRA keeps the tax spread out but loses the rule of 55 on that part.

Count the years until 59½ and until 65

Two dates shape an early retirement in the United States. At 59½ every 401(k) and IRA opens without the 10 % additional tax. At 65 Medicare replaces private health insurance. Someone stopping at 48 has eleven and a half years of bridge to fund from reachable money and seventeen years of premiums. The bridge calculator measures the first gap; the Marketplace calculator prices the second.

Decide your income before the Marketplace does

Marketplace premiums depend on modified adjusted gross income, and an early retiree largely decides it: taxable account sales count only for their gain, Roth contributions and seasoned conversions do not count at all, while 401(k) withdrawals and Roth conversions count in full. In 2026 and 2027 the credit stops at 400 % of the poverty line, $84,600 for two people in 2026. A large conversion in a year of Marketplace coverage can cost more in lost credit than it saves in future tax. The cliff calculator shows the room left under the line.

Fill the low brackets every year

With little earned income, the first $16,100 of ordinary income of a single filer is untaxed in 2026, and the next $12,400 of taxable income is taxed at 10 %. Converting that much from a traditional IRA to a Roth every year, or drawing it from a 401(k) under the rule of 55, moves money out of pre-tax accounts at almost no cost and builds the next rungs of a ladder. Long-term gains up to $49,450 of taxable income stay at 0 % (0 % gains calculator).

Check your state before you move

States treat early withdrawals very differently. California adds its own 2.5 % tax on early distributions on top of the federal 10 %. Illinois subtracts retirement plan and IRA payouts at any age; Iowa excludes them from the year you are 55; New York's $20,000 exclusion starts only at 59½; Georgia's at 62. Several states, Washington, Texas and Florida among them, have no individual income tax at all. The state comparison applies each rule as read on the state's revenue site.

Leave Social Security as a margin

The calculators leave Social Security out and treat any future benefit as a safety margin, not as income: if it turns out smaller, or you claim it later, the plan still holds.

Questions readers ask

How much do I need to retire at 45 in the US?

With $60,000 of yearly spending, the plain 4 % rule says $1,500,000. Add federal tax on withdrawals from a mostly pre-tax portfolio and twenty years of health premiums before Medicare and the figure rises to about $1,651,865 in 2026 dollars, before the question of which accounts you can reach before 59½.

Can I touch my 401(k) if I retire before 59½?

Yes, through an exception to the 10 % additional tax. Leaving the employer in or after the year you turn 55 opens that employer's 401(k); a 72(t) series opens any account at any age for fixed payments of at least five years; a governmental 457(b) owes no 10 % after you leave. Income tax is due in every case.

Does this FIRE calculator include taxes?

Yes. It applies the 2026 federal brackets, the $16,100 single standard deduction and the 0 % and 15 % rates on long-term gains from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 to the withdrawals of each year, and an optional flat state rate. It also adds the 10 % additional tax whenever the plan would need a penalized withdrawal.

Why is my retirement age later here than on other FIRE calculators?

Most calculators stop at 25 times spending and assume every dollar is reachable on the day you leave. This one adds tax, health premiums until Medicare at 65, and checks that each year before 59½ can be paid from money the rules let out without the 10 % penalty. Each of these can move the date by a year or more.

What is the safest way to bridge from early retirement to 59½?

There is no single answer; it depends on where the money sits. Taxable savings and Roth contributions are the most flexible. Leaving at 55 or later opens the last 401(k). Before that, a Roth ladder needs five years of other money, while a 72(t) series locks a fixed payment for at least five years and until 59½.

Do I need to pay for health insurance if I retire early?

Yes, until Medicare at 65. COBRA keeps the employer plan for up to 18 months at the full cost plus up to 2 %. A Marketplace plan may come with a premium tax credit based on your income; in 2026 the credit stops above 400 % of the federal poverty line, $62,600 for one person.

Official texts behind this page

Worked out by Radif Partners

Independent publisher of early retirement calculators built on the IRS rules for reaching retirement money before 59½

Figures checked on October 15, 2026 · Editorial policy · Contact

Results are estimates from the 2026 federal rules and the assumptions you type (returns, spending, state rate). This is not financial advice, nor tax or investment advice for your own case; a plan administrator or tax professional can confirm your own case. We receive nothing from any broker, plan or adviser.

Tax year 2026, rules and rates last read on October 15, 2026