Coast FIRE Calculator Canada

Your Coast FIRE number is the invested amount needed today so it can grow, without further retirement contributions, into the portfolio required at your target retirement age. Reaching that checkpoint does not mean you can retire today. It means the retirement portion of the plan may be able to compound on its own while current employment or other income still pays today's bills. The main result therefore answers a narrower and more useful question than a full FIRE number.

The status adds the effect of monthly contributions. Coast FIRE now means current invested assets already meet the moving target. On track means the entered monthly contribution first catches that target before retirement. Not reachable means no crossing occurs by retirement under this contribution and these assumptions; the calculator then shows an estimated monthly amount required to fund the retirement target. A zero contribution never produces a made-up Coast date.

CPP or QPP and OAS are optional because the correct amount is personal. CPP depends on contribution history, earnings and the age benefits begin. Quebec residents use a QPP estimate from Retraite Québec. OAS depends on age, residence and income conditions. The calculator does not substitute a maximum, an average or a promotional example. Enter zero until you have an official estimate, and enter the gross annual amount in today's purchasing power.

Turning a benefit on does not make it available at retirement automatically. CPP or QPP can begin at an age you enter from 60 through 70; OAS can begin from 65 through 70 in this tool. The model uses each amount only from that start age. It does not decide whether delaying is better, calculate OAS recovery tax, test residence eligibility or estimate GIS. Those decisions require official records and a broader tax-aware retirement plan.

If retirement starts before a benefit, the portfolio must cover the intervening years. This is the bridge. For every year from retirement until all enabled benefits have started, the calculation subtracts only income already active from annual spending, never income that begins later. Each remaining annual shortfall is discounted back to the retirement date. After all enabled benefits begin, the continuing spending shortfall is converted into capital using the withdrawal rate and discounted through the delay.

Consider retirement at 60, spending of C$45,000, CPP or QPP of C$12,000 and OAS of C$8,000, both starting at 65. The first five retirement years still need the full C$45,000 before benefits. From 65 onward, the continuing shortfall is C$25,000. At the default 4% withdrawal assumption, that later shortfall corresponds to C$625,000 at age 65, then is discounted to age 60. This avoids treating age-65 income as though it arrived at age 60.

Every amount is expressed in today's Canadian dollars. Real return equals one plus the nominal return, divided by one plus inflation, minus one. At the defaults, 7% nominal growth and 2% inflation produce about 4.90% real growth; simple subtraction would be slightly wrong. The baseline retirement nest egg equals annual spending divided by the withdrawal rate. The adjusted nest egg equals the present value of bridge spending plus the present value of the continuing shortfall after benefits begin.

The Canada Coast FIRE number discounts that adjusted retirement nest egg from retirement age back to current age. Monthly contributions follow a month-end convention. Each month, projected investments are compared with the Coast target for the remaining time, so the target moves upward as retirement approaches. The 2% inflation default reflects the Bank of Canada's current target, not a forecast. The 4% withdrawal rate is a planning assumption, not a guarantee against market, sequence or longevity risk.

A single output can create false confidence, so run at least three versions. First, lower the nominal return while leaving spending unchanged. Second, increase annual spending to include a realistic allowance for housing, health costs, tax and irregular purchases. Third, turn CPP/QPP and OAS off. If the plan only works with optimistic returns and exact benefit assumptions, the gap between scenarios is important information rather than a reason to hide the conservative result.

Also check whether the entered portfolio mix could reasonably support the return assumption. A portfolio holding mostly cash should not use an equity-like nominal return. Review the plan periodically because assets, contributions, retirement timing and official benefit estimates change. Coast FIRE is a checkpoint under stated assumptions. It is not permission to stop monitoring a plan, and it does not remove the need for current income before retirement.

This page does not calculate federal or provincial income tax, RRSP or RRIF withdrawal order, OAS recovery tax, GIS, investment fees, account-specific returns, contribution room, inheritances, home sales, market sequences or Monte Carlo success rates. It also does not model two partners with different ages and accounts. Use the couples calculator for a joint Coast question and the pension calculator for employer pension income instead of forcing those cash flows into a benefit field.

Because the benefits are entered gross while spending is an after-purchase target, tax can materially change a real plan. Treat the comparison as an educational sensitivity test: it shows how entered income and start ages affect this transparent cash-flow rule. It does not determine entitlement or recommend a claiming age. Before reducing retirement contributions, verify records through official services and consider a qualified Canadian financial planner or tax professional who can assess the complete household.