Chubby FIRE Calculator
Project Chubby FIRE — the middle ground between Regular FIRE and Fat FIRE, targeting $80,000-$120,000 in annual spending with comfortable margin.
| Annual Spending Target | — |
| SWR | — |
| Portfolio Target | — |
| Current Portfolio | — |
| Years to Chubby FIRE | — |
Chubby FIRE calculator models the middle tier of Financial Independence Retire Early — targeting $80,000-$120,000 in annual spending, between Regular FIRE comfort and Fat FIRE luxury.
What Distinguishes Chubby FIRE
Chubby FIRE retirees prioritize lifestyle margin without the multi-million capital requirements of Fat FIRE. Typical Chubby FIRE numbers: $2-3.5M portfolio supporting $80-120k spending at a 3.5-4% SWR. Healthcare, travel, and discretionary spending all fit comfortably without micro-budgeting.
Sequence Risk and Flexibility
Chubby FIRE retirees usually retain some optionality — part-time work, dynamic spending rules (Guyton-Klinger guardrails), and willingness to reduce $5-15k of discretionary spending in bad market years. This flexibility allows a slightly higher SWR than Fat FIRE plans require.
Healthcare Bridge to Medicare
Like Fat FIRE, Chubby FIRE retirees face the pre-Medicare healthcare gap. With MAGI of $80-120k, ACA subsidies may phase out — budget $15,000-$25,000/year for marketplace coverage. Strategic Roth conversions during low-income early years can reduce taxable income and unlock subsidies (source: healthcare.gov).
Chubby FIRE Calculator: How the Numbers Are Computed
This chubby FIRE calculator multiplies your target annual spend by the inverse of your chosen safe withdrawal rate (default 3.75% = 26.67x multiplier, vs the classic 4% = 25x). Why 3.75? Per the Bogleheads safe-withdrawal-rate research, retirements longer than 30 years (typical for FIRE in 40s/50s) survive historically at 3.5-3.75% with 100% success rate; the classic 4% was modeled for a 30-year window. Inputs: target spend (default $100k), SWR (default 3.75%), expected real return (5%). Output: portfolio target + years-to-FIRE based on current savings and contribution rate. Updated 2026-06-25.
How Much Do You Need for Chubby FIRE? Portfolio Targets by Spend and SWR
Your Chubby FIRE number is annual spend divided by your safe withdrawal rate. Because a 40-to-50-year retirement is longer than the 30-year window the classic 4% rule was tested against, most Chubby FIRE plans land between 3.5% and 3.75% — and that choice moves the target by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
| Annual spend | At 4.0% SWR (25×) | At 3.75% SWR (26.7×) | At 3.5% SWR (28.6×) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $80,000 | $2.00M | $2.13M | $2.29M |
| $90,000 | $2.25M | $2.40M | $2.57M |
| $100,000 | $2.50M | $2.67M | $2.86M |
| $110,000 | $2.75M | $2.93M | $3.14M |
| $120,000 | $3.00M | $3.20M | $3.43M |
Two adjustments most calculators skip. First, subtract future guaranteed income: an $80,000 spend backed by $30,000 of eventual Social Security is not an $80,000 portfolio problem forever, though it is until benefits start. Second, add the pre-Medicare healthcare line — at a $80–120k modified AGI, marketplace premiums of $15,000–$25,000 a year are already inside these spend figures, so do not double-count them. Withdrawals themselves are taxed by character, not by size: qualified dividends and long-term gains use the preferential brackets described in IRS Topic No. 409, and the 0% band is generous enough that many Chubby FIRE retirees pay little federal tax in the early years.
Last updated: August 2026. Sources: Trinity Study, Bogleheads SWR wiki, IRS Topic No. 409. Tax bracket thresholds are indexed annually — confirm the current-year figure with the IRS before planning around it.