The numbers shown come from a sample profile for illustration – in the calculator you see your own values.
The FIRE number (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is the wealth you need to never have to work again – based on your current lifestyle and your target withdrawal rate of 4%.
It answers: "At what portfolio value does my 4% target withdrawal cover exactly the amount I need to withdraw gross?" That is more than just your living costs – because taxes and health-insurance contributions are deducted from every withdrawal.
The FIRE number is derived directly from the FIRE net calculator: net spending target + taxes + health insurance = required gross withdrawal. This gross withdrawal divided by the target withdrawal rate gives the target capital.
Important: in FireLotse, the target withdrawal rate only determines how much capital you need. Your actual withdrawals are calculated individually for each life phase from budget, taxes and health insurance – they can differ from the target rate.
Example:€2,000 net need + €150 tax + €250 health insurance = €2,400 gross / month. FIRE number = 28,800 ÷ 0.04 = €720,000.
How it is calculated
Cash-flow difference = FIRE budget + health insurance − external investment income
Target withdrawal rate: 4%Adjustable in the retirement planner. Lower rate = larger FIRE number = more safety.
Incl. tax + health insurance:The FIRE number is based on the back-calculation from the FIRE net calculator. Taxes (capital-gains tax, partial exemption) and health-insurance costs are already included – you do not need a separate health-insurance budget.
Purchasing power & inflation:All amounts are in today's purchasing power. Update your expenses once a year – the FIRE number then grows along automatically. Projections (FIRE age, Coast FIRE) use the real return after inflation.
