Investing & rates
What is Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)?
A movement built on saving and investing enough that your investment returns can cover your living costs, making work optional. A common rule of thumb is a portfolio of about 25 times your annual expenses.
How the math works
Estimate your annual living expenses and multiply by about 25 to get your “FIRE number” — the portfolio size at which a roughly 4% annual withdrawal, rising with inflation, has historically had a low chance of running out over a long retirement. The 25× rule is simply the inverse of that 4% safe-withdrawal rate.
Variations and the Singapore angle
Common flavours include LeanFIRE (a frugal, lower target), FatFIRE (a higher-spending target) and CoastFIRE (save aggressively early, then let compounding carry you to retirement without further saving). In Singapore, CPF LIFE provides a guaranteed income floor from age 65, so many people plan FIRE as a “bridge” — building enough to cover the years before CPF, pensions and other payouts kick in.