Freedom251 › Retirement Planning Software

FIRECalc

Free plan Web

What FIRECalc is

FIRECalc is a free web calculator for assessing whether savings and planned spending could sustain retirement under historical market conditions. It evaluates plans across historical starting years using market data beginning in 1871, then reports how often a portfolio would have remained funded for the chosen term. Users can include Social Security, pensions, and other income or spending adjustments. Spending approaches include inflation-adjusted constant withdrawals, Bernicke’s Reality Retirement Plan, and spending based on a percentage of the remaining portfolio.

Users can select historical investment portfolios, set fees, or model consistent or random returns. Planning inputs include a future retirement date, contributions before retirement, and future lump-sum changes. Defaults are a portfolio of 75% stock index and 25% bond funds, a 0.18% fund fee, and inflation-adjusted spending over 30 years. The homepage says the data was updated April 17, 2026, and runs through January 1, 2026. FIRECalc emphasizes that historical data does not predict future returns; it also does not provide tax planning or account synchronization. It says it does not store financial entries, and temporary spreadsheet or graphic files are deleted about 15 minutes after creation.

Who it suits

FIRECalc is for people evaluating early retirement and whether savings, spending, and other resources might sustain their lifestyle. It can help compare withdrawal and portfolio assumptions against historical market periods.

What it does well

Tests plans against historical market data beginning in 1871.
Includes Social Security and pension inputs.
Offers several spending approaches and portfolio choices.
Supports future dates, contributions, and lump-sum changes.
Financial entries are not stored, according to FIRECalc.

What to know first

Historical analysis cannot predict future investment returns.
It does not provide tax planning.
Account synchronization is not available.

Limits

The free calculator evaluates scenarios using historical market data and cannot predict future investment returns. Supporter registration provides access to some additional features on request; FIRECalc does not offer tax planning or tax modeling.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
FIRECalc	Core retirement calculator; supporter registration provides some additional features on request	Free

As firecalc.com lists them, read 7 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Visit https://firecalc.com/ in a web browser.
Enter savings and planned spending for the retirement scenario.
Add Social Security, pensions, or other income and spending adjustments as needed.
Choose spending and portfolio assumptions, including fees and return modeling.
Set a future retirement date, contributions, or lump-sum changes if relevant.
Review how often the plan remained funded across historical starting years.

Verdict

FIRECalc offers a range of retirement spending and portfolio scenarios framed by historical market outcomes. Its results are not forecasts, and it does not cover taxes or account synchronization.

Questions

Does FIRECalc cost anything?

The FIRECalc plan is free.

What does FIRECalc report?

It reports how often a retirement plan would have succeeded across historical starting years, meaning the portfolio remained funded for the planned term.

Can it include Social Security and pensions?

Yes. Users can include Social Security, pensions, and other future income or spending adjustments.

Does FIRECalc predict future investment returns?

No. It applies historical market data to retirement plans and says it cannot predict future investment returns.

Does FIRECalc provide tax planning or sync accounts?

It does not provide tax planning or account synchronization.

Does FIRECalc store financial entries?

FIRECalc says it does not store users' financial entries. Temporary spreadsheet and graphic files are session-only and deleted approximately 15 minutes after creation.

Facts from FIRECalc's own pages

Additional features: Registering as a supporter provides access to some additional features available only on request. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Data freshness: The homepage says its data was updated April 17, 2026, with data through January 1, 2026. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Default assumptions: The default portfolio is 75% stock index and 25% bond funds with a 0.18% fund fee, and default spending is adjusted for inflation over 30 years. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Future planning: Users can set a future retirement date, add annual contributions before retirement, and enter future lump-sum portfolio changes. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Historical analysis: It evaluates retirement plans across historical starting years, with market data beginning in 1871. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Income inputs: Users can include Social Security, pensions, and other future income or spending adjustments. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Intended users: The site presents FIRECalc for people evaluating early retirement and whether their savings, spending, and other resources can maintain their lifestyle. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Model limitation: FIRECalc says it cannot predict future investment returns and instead applies historical market data to retirement plans. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Portfolio choices: Users can select historical investment portfolios, set investment fees, or model consistent or random portfolio returns. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Privacy: FIRECalc says it does not store users' financial entries; temporary files for spreadsheets and graphics are session-only and deleted approximately 15 minutes after creation. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Purpose: FIRECalc helps assess whether savings and planned spending can sustain a retirement across historical market conditions. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Spending models: Options include inflation-adjusted constant spending, Bernicke's Reality Retirement Plan, and spending based on a percentage of the remaining portfolio. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Success rate: Results report how often a retirement plan would have succeeded historically, meaning the portfolio remained funded for the planned term. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Support: The contact page directs usage questions to the FIRECalc support section of the Early Retirement forum and accepts bug reports and suggestions. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026
Tax planning: FIRECalc says it does not account for taxable versus nontaxable portfolios or provide tax planning. · firecalc.com, 7 Oct 2026

Where FIRECalc stands on Freedom251

Retirement Planning Software#9 of 26