Coast FIRE is the point at which your invested pot is already big enough that, even if you never contribute another penny, compound growth alone should carry it to your retirement target by the age you plan to stop work. You still work to cover today's living costs, but you no longer have to save for retirement — the retirement part is on autopilot.

At what age can you access your pension and State Pension in the UK?

Most private and workplace pensions can currently be accessed from age 55, but the normal minimum pension age rises to 57 from 6 April 2028 (some members with a protected pension age keep 55). The State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67, phased between May 2026 and March 2028; anyone born on or after 6 April 1961 has a State Pension age of 67. These ages shape when the 'retirement' in Coast FIRE can actually begin.

Is reaching Coast FIRE the same as being able to retire?

No. Coast FIRE means the retirement pot is on track without further saving, not that you can stop working. You still need income to cover today's bills. Full FIRE — having enough to stop working entirely — is a much larger number, usually estimated as annual spending multiplied by about 25 (a 4% withdrawal rate). Coast FIRE is the earlier, smaller milestone on the way there.

Coast FIRE Number by Age UK — How Much to Stop Saving (2026)

Q: What is the Coast FIRE number by age in the UK?

It depends on your target and growth assumption. For an illustrative £500,000 pot (in today's money) at age 67 and 5% real growth, the Coast FIRE number is roughly: age 25, £64,000; 30, £82,000; 35, £105,000; 40, £134,000; 45, £171,000; 50, £218,000; 55, £278,000; 60, £355,000. At a more cautious 4% real, each figure is higher (for example about £143,000 at 35 and £312,000 at 55). Scale the whole table with your own target: halve the target and every Coast number halves.

Q: How do you calculate your Coast FIRE number?

Coast FIRE number = target pot ÷ (1 + r) raised to the power of the years left until retirement, where r is your assumed real (after-inflation) return. For example, a £500,000 target at 5% real with 32 years to go (age 35 to 67) is 500,000 ÷ 1.05^32, which is about £105,000. Working in real returns keeps the answer in today's money so the target stays meaningful.

The number you came for

If you're reading this, you've probably already met Coast FIRE and just want the thing most explainers skip: the actual pound figure for your age. So here's the table first, and the reasoning after it. Coast FIRE is the pot that's big enough to stop adding money to. Compound growth finishes the retirement job on its own, and you carry on working just to cover normal life.

These are the Coast FIRE numbers for a £500,000 target pot at age 67, in today's money, at two growth rates. Find your age. That's roughly the pot which, left completely alone, would grow to £500k by 67.

Your age now	Coast number · 5% real	Coast number · 4% real
25	£64,000	£96,000
30	£82,000	£117,000
35	£105,000	£143,000
40	£134,000	£173,000
45	£171,000	£211,000
50	£218,000	£257,000
55	£278,000	£312,000
60	£355,000	£380,000

Assumptions: a £500,000 pot (in today's money) needed at age 67, growing at a real (after-inflation) return of 5% or 4% a year, with no further contributions. Working in real returns keeps everything in today's money, so the target still means something decades out. The table scales with your own target. Aim at £250,000 and every figure halves; aim at £1,000,000 and they double. These are illustrations of the arithmetic, not a recommendation of a number for you.

What Coast FIRE actually is — and isn't

Full financial independence, enough invested to never work again, is a big and distant number: roughly your annual spending times 25, on the old 4% rule of thumb. Coast FIRE is the gentler cousin. It's the point where your pot is already big enough that, without another penny added, growth alone should reach that bigger number by the time you retire. You haven't retired. You've just switched off the pressure to save for it, and now only need to earn enough to cover this month. I wrote the full plain-English version in Coast FIRE in the UK, explained. This piece is the by-age companion, all about the number.

Knowing your figure is worth it because it changes how work feels. Once you're past your Coast number, saving more is optional rather than urgent. You could drop to four days a week, take the lower-paid job you actually like, or take a year out, and the retirement pot keeps compounding in the background either way. That's the appeal. It buys back some choice years before full independence is realistic.

The one line of maths behind the table

There's a single formula under every figure above:

Coast number = target ÷ (1 + r)^{years to retirement}

Here r is the real (after-inflation) return you assume, and the exponent is just how many years until you plan to stop. Take a 35-year-old aiming at £500,000 by 67 at 5% real. That's 500,000 ÷ 1.05³², or about £105,000. The same person assuming a more cautious 4% needs roughly £143,000, because slower growth has to be made up with a bigger starting pot. It's really the compound-interest formula run backwards. Instead of growing a pot forwards, you discount your goal back to what it's worth today.

Why the number is so much smaller at 25

Look down the table and the gap is startling. About £64,000 at 25 against £278,000 at 55, for the same £500k goal. More than four times as much, for an identical finish line. That isn't a quirk. It's the entire point of Coast FIRE. The 25-year-old is giving the pot 42 years of compounding; the 55-year-old is giving it 12. Time does the work the early saver doesn't have to.

It's why the idea lands hardest with people in their twenties and early thirties, and why it can feel almost unfair later on. Start at 55 and there just aren't enough compounding years left for a modest pot to coast, so the number stays high. That's not a judgement on anyone. It's only what the maths does. Starting later means a shorter coasting phase, so the years of working and saving have to carry more of the weight.

Where the UK rules bite: 57, 67 and the State Pension

The table assumes retirement at 67, and that's deliberate. For anyone born on or after 6 April 1961 the State Pension age is now 67, phased in between May 2026 and March 2028. The other date that matters is pension access. Most private and workplace pensions can be taken from 55 today, but the normal minimum pension age rises to 57 from 6 April 2028 (a protected earlier age applies to some older schemes). So if your Coast pot sits inside a pension, 57 is the earliest the coasting can turn into spending.

The State Pension shifts the target too. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27, about £12,548 a year, for someone with enough qualifying National Insurance years. Because it covers part of your income once State Pension age arrives, the private pot you have to build yourself is smaller than the total income you eventually want. A £500,000 pot drawn at 4% is around £20,000 a year. Add the full State Pension and you're near £32,500 a year for one person, before tax. That's the sort of income a £500k target stands in for. Your own figure will depend on the life you're picturing, and any final-salary (defined benefit) pension shrinks the number you need to reach yourself. None of this is a recommendation. It's the arithmetic and the current rules, and your own targets belong to you, your household, and a qualified adviser.

Quick check

Have you already hit your Coast FIRE number?

Enter your age, what you've got invested for retirement (pensions plus investments, not your home), and the pot you're aiming at for 67. It runs the same formula as the table above, at the growth rate you pick.

Your age Invested for retirement (£) Target pot at 67 (£) Real growth

So, have you already coasted?

The strange thing about Coast FIRE is that plenty of people cross the line without noticing. Someone who saved hard in their twenties, or landed a lump sum early, can be quietly past their Coast number at 34 and still budgeting as if retirement hangs on the next ten years of contributions. The table and the checker above are there to catch that, and to show whether the pressure you're carrying is still doing anything, or whether the pot has it covered.

And if you're not there yet, the number on any given day matters less than watching the gap close. A Coast number only means something next to a pot you actually track: what's invested, growing month after month, against the line you're aiming at. That's the comparison that counts, and it's why I built WealthR. It turns "am I on track?" from a vague worry into a number you can watch move.

Free · no card, no catch

Watch your pot close the gap to Coast FIRE.

Put your pensions and investments in once and WealthR keeps the total in one place, with retirement and drawdown forecasts, a three-phase Coast trajectory, and the free UK tax tools alongside. The point isn't today's number. It's watching the line climb toward your target, month after month.

Track your pot free →

To run your own figures through the full model, with regular contributions and a year-by-year chart, the Coast FIRE calculator takes a couple of minutes. If you'd rather size the finish line itself, the FIRE number calculator works out the full-independence target, and the Monte Carlo piece stress-tests whether a pot actually lasts once you're drawing on it. And for the question sitting underneath all of this, pension versus ISA while you build, the salary sacrifice guide is the companion read.

Frequently asked

What is Coast FIRE?

The point where your invested pot is already big enough that, with no further contributions, compound growth alone should reach your retirement target by the age you plan to stop. You still work to cover today's costs — you've just switched off the retirement-saving pressure.

What's the Coast FIRE number by age in the UK?

For an illustrative £500,000 pot at 67 and 5% real growth, roughly: 25, £64,000; 30, £82,000; 35, £105,000; 40, £134,000; 45, £171,000; 50, £218,000; 55, £278,000; 60, £355,000. At a cautious 4% real, each figure is higher. Scale the table to your own target — halve the target and every number halves.

How do you calculate your Coast FIRE number?

Coast number = target ÷ (1 + r)^{years to retirement}, where r is your assumed real (after-inflation) return. A £500,000 target at 5% real with 32 years to go (35 to 67) is 500,000 ÷ 1.05³² ≈ £105,000. Working in real returns keeps the answer in today's money.

Does the State Pension count towards Coast FIRE?

It lowers the private pot you need. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27 (about £12,548 a year) with enough qualifying National Insurance years. Because it covers part of a retirement income from State Pension age, the pot you must build yourself is smaller than the total income you want.

What age can you access your pension in the UK?

Most private and workplace pensions can be taken from 55 today, but the normal minimum pension age rises to 57 from 6 April 2028 (some older schemes keep a protected age). State Pension age is rising to 67, phased between May 2026 and March 2028.

Is hitting Coast FIRE the same as being able to retire?

No. Coast FIRE means the retirement pot is on track without more saving — not that you can stop working. Full FIRE, enough to stop entirely, is a much larger number (roughly annual spending × 25). Coast is the earlier, smaller milestone on the way.

This is general information about a personal-finance concept and the current UK pension rules, not financial advice or a personal recommendation. The figures are illustrative and rest on assumptions (a £500,000 target, 4–5% real growth, retirement at 67) that won't match everyone, and real investment returns vary and are not guaranteed. WealthR is a planning and tracking tool and is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. For advice about your own pension, retirement or investments, speak to a qualified, FCA-authorised adviser.