This FIRE calculator is not endorsed by CPF or any other entities and is created only for educational and
financial planning purposes.
The product is not intended as financial advice or as an offer or recommendation of securities or other
financial products.
While attempts has been made to reflect the forecast correctly according to the parameters the calculator
may fail to forecast the actual amount accurately for multiple reasons.
How This FIRE Calculator
Works
Purpose:
Singapore-Specific Retirement Planning
Most FIRE calculators assume you can access all your net worth at any time. In Singapore, a
significant portion of our wealth (CPF) is locked until age 55 (withdrawal) or 65 (CPF Life
payouts). This calculator is designed to model that reality by separating Liquid
Cash from CPF.
The "Liquid Cash
Bridge": The Most Critical Concept
This is the most important concept in this calculator. To retire early (FIRE), you need enough liquid
cash or accessible investments to bridge the gap between your FIRE Age and your
CPF Withdrawal Age. Even if you have $1 Million in CPF, you cannot retire at 40 if
you have $0 liquid cash, because you can't pay for groceries.
Failure Condition: This calculator marks your plan as FAILED if your Liquid Assets
drop below $0 at any point, even if your total net worth is positive.
CPF Retirement Sums &
Life Payouts
This calculator now projects your Retirement Sums (BRS/FRS/ERS) based on your cohort
(birth year). It assumes these sums increase by 3.5% per annum from the 2025
baseline until you turn 55, at which point they are fixed.
CPF Life Payouts are estimated using a linear interpolation of the 2025 cohort data
(e.g. ~$1,650/mth for Standard Plan FRS). The projection assumes your monthly payout will help
offset your expenses starting from your Payout Age (default 65).
Key Assumptions & Model
Nuances
- Inflation: All expenses and targets are inflation-adjusted. If you set 2%
inflation, a $1000 expense today is calculated as ~$1218 in 10 years.
- Expenses After FIRE: You can now specify if your monthly expenses change after
you retire (e.g., lower transport costs, higher travel costs). This helps model "Lean FIRE" or
"Fat FIRE" scenarios more accurately.
- Withdrawal Strategy: The calculator prioritizes using Cash first. If Cash runs
out, it liquidates Investments. It only touches CPF payouts when eligible.