Retirement Plan
How the Forbidden Finance retirement plan projects your investment and retirement balances to the age you plan around, with FI, Lean, Fat, Coast, and Barista targets.
Overview
The retirement plan takes the money you have invested today, what you add each month, and what you spend, and projects it year by year to the age you plan around. It shows when your balance would reach your financial independence (FI) target, and how far along you are now.
Available on: Pro and Premium. Premium adds Monte Carlo simulation, withdrawal planning and income sources, and account buckets.
Open the Plan
- From the Assets tab, tap the Retirement card, then Open plan.
- From a FIRE budget, tap Planning on the FI progress card.
- From the dashboard, add the FI Progress or Coast FIRE card and tap it.
The first time you open the plan, it asks you to set your birth year, because the projection needs your current age. Everything else starts from defaults you can change later. See Plan Assumptions.
What the Plan Shows
FI progress
A ring shows how far your FI-eligible assets are toward the target you picked. FI-eligible assets are your investment and retirement holdings, from linked accounts or holdings you entered yourself. Your home, vehicles, collectibles, and custom assets are left out, because they don't pay for groceries in retirement.
Projected balance by age
A line chart follows your projected balance from today to your longevity age, in today's money. A marker shows your retirement age, and a dashed line shows the FI target. Below the chart, the plan says the age at which you would reach FI, or that you don't reach it by your longevity age.
Targets
The plan works out five targets at once. Tap a chip to choose which one the chart and progress ring measure against.
| Target | How it is worked out |
|---|---|
| Standard (FI number) | Your annual expenses divided by your withdrawal rate. With $40,000 a year and a 4% rate, that is $1,000,000. |
| Lean | The FI number times your lean multiplier (0.70 by default), for a leaner retirement budget. |
| Fat | The FI number times your fat multiplier (1.50 by default), for a more comfortable one. |
| Coast | The amount you would need invested today to grow into your FI number by your retirement age with no further contributions. A Coast reached badge shows when your FI-eligible assets are at or above it. |
| Barista | The FI number minus what part-time income would cover. You set the monthly part-time income and how many years it lasts. |
Inputs
The plan shows the figures it ran on, so you can check them:
- Annual expenses: your average monthly spending over the last three full months, times 12, unless you set your own figure.
- Monthly contribution: your average monthly savings over the same months, unless you set your own figure. Any employer match you enter is added on top.
- Real return: your expected return after fees and inflation. The plan works in today's money, so a 7% return with 3% inflation shows as roughly 3.9%.
- FI assets now: the FI-eligible assets the projection starts from.
When some of a figure couldn't be read, for example a partner's shared data, the plan says so under the inputs instead of guessing.
Private, Shared, and Combined
If you are in a household, scope chips switch the plan between:
- Private: your own accounts and holdings.
- Shared: what partners have shared with you.
- Combined: both together, without counting anything twice.
Your spending and contribution overrides, employer match, and income sources apply to Private and Combined, the views that carry your own plan. If nobody has shared accounts with you, the Shared view says so.
When the Plan Can't Run Yet
The plan names what's missing and links to the fix:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Set your birth year | Open Assumptions and enter your birth year. |
| No investable assets found | Add a holding or connect an investment account. |
| Enter annual expenses | Add a few months of transactions, or set annual expenses in Assumptions. |
| Longevity age is not after your current age | Raise the longevity age in Assumptions. |
| Currencies do not match | Your expense history and the plan use different base currencies. Email support if this doesn't clear. |
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does the plan update?
Each time you open it. Your balances come from the nightly net worth calculation and your daily account sync, and your spending and savings come from your transactions.
Why is my FI progress different from my net worth?
FI progress counts investment and retirement holdings only. Net worth also includes cash, your home, vehicles, and debts.
Does the plan change my budget or my accounts?
No. It only reads your data. Changing an assumption changes the projection and nothing else.
Is this the same FI number as my FIRE budget?
They start from the same idea, annual expenses divided by a withdrawal rate. The FIRE budget measures one budget period. The retirement plan projects years ahead and lets you set its own assumptions. If you use a FIRE budget, its expected return, inflation, and withdrawal rate become the plan's defaults.
Related Articles
Plan Assumptions
Every assumption, its default, and its range.Monte Carlo Simulation
A range of outcomes instead of one line (Premium).Withdrawal Planning
How spending in retirement draws down your accounts (Premium).FIRE Budget
Track savings rate and FI number month to month.Goal Types
Turn your FI number into a FIRE target goal.Need more help? Email us at [email protected] and we will get back to you.