PLANNING
FIRE calculator (India)
Financial Independence, Retire Early · Deterministic · Monte Carlo (1000×) · Historical Nifty 50 + Midcap sequences
LEARN: CAGR · Max drawdown · Std deviation
The 4% rule doesn't travel well to India
The classic FIRE number is 25× your annual expenses - the "4% rule," built on US market history. Indian equity returns and inflation are both more volatile than the US, so a flat 25× is riskier here than the number suggests, and retiring early stretches the corpus over more years than a standard 30-year retirement - more time for a bad early sequence to do permanent damage. A deterministic (steady-return) calculator hides this; it will tell you 25× is fine when a model that actually simulates thousands of return sequences says otherwise.
How to use it
Set your annual expenses and a corpus multiplier (X × expenses) to see which zone you land in - Danger, Buffer, or Sleep-well. A longer early-retirement horizon needs a higher multiple to land in the same safety zone as a standard retirement. Then compare all three modes: Deterministic (steady returns, what most FIRE calculators show you), Monte Carlo (1,000 randomized return sequences - the realistic view), and Historical Nifty sequences (what would have actually happened retiring in each year from 1995 onward, sequence risk included).
This runs the same simulation engine as the retirement drawdown calculator, with longer horizons for an early-retirement plan. Read the research it's built on - The corpus multiplier: why 30× beats a safe withdrawal rate.
Nifty 50 + Nifty Midcap historical returns 1995-2024 · Not financial advice · For scenario analysis only
Methodology draws on publicly available Indian safe-withdrawal-rate research - see the full story for details.
Frequently asked questions
What is a FIRE number, and is the 4% rule right for India?
Your FIRE number is the corpus you need before you can stop working - commonly set at 25× your annual expenses (the "4% rule"), a US rule of thumb. Indian equity returns and inflation are both more volatile than the US, so publicly available Indian safe-withdrawal-rate research puts the real danger line closer to 25× and the safe zone closer to 35×+, not a flat 25× for everyone. Use the Monte Carlo and historical-sequence modes below to see where your own numbers actually land.
What's the difference between Lean FIRE and Fat FIRE?
They describe how much you plan to spend, not a different formula. Lean FIRE assumes a tight annual budget and a smaller corpus; Fat FIRE assumes a comfortable or high budget and needs a proportionally larger one, since the corpus is always expenses × your multiplier. Enter your own real expected annual expenses below - this calculator does not assume either.
Can I retire early in India on a 25x multiple?
It depends heavily on your equity allocation, how long your retirement horizon is, and whether you hit a bad sequence of returns early on - a 25x corpus survives far more often in a steady-return model than in a model that actually simulates market volatility. Retiring early (a 35-40 year horizon) needs a higher survival bar than a standard 30-year retirement, since there is more time for a bad sequence to do damage. Switch between the three simulation modes to see the difference for your own numbers.