FIRE Simulator (Ireland)

The classic 4% rule is based on US market data and does not account for Irish taxes. Due to CGT (33%), ETF Exit Tax (41%), and DIRT (33%), the effective safe withdrawal rate for Ireland is closer to 3.2%–3.5%. This means your FIRE number needs to be 15-25% larger than the standard 25x rule.

Coast FIRE is when you have enough invested that you can stop contributing and let compound growth take you to your full FIRE number by your target retirement age. You continue working to cover living expenses, but stop saving for retirement.

For example, if you need €1M at 55 and you're 30 with €200k invested at 7% growth, you've already achieved Coast FIRE — that €200k will grow to €1M by 55 without any additional contributions.

Barista FIRE involves leaving full-time high-stress work for a part-time or lower-paying job that covers living expenses while your investments continue growing. The part-time income reduces how much you need to withdraw from your portfolio.

This strategy is popular in Ireland where the cost of living is high — a part-time job earning €15k-€20k/year can significantly reduce the FIRE number needed, allowing you to retire from your career years earlier.

Geo-arbitrage means relocating to a lower-cost country to reduce your FIRE number. Popular destinations from Ireland include Portugal (NHR),Thailand, and Spain.

Living costs can be 40-60% lower than Ireland, and some countries offer tax incentives like Portugal's NHR regime (10-year tax exemption on foreign income). This can reduce your FIRE number by 40-50%.

Capital Gains Tax in Ireland is 33%on gains from selling assets. In retirement, selling €40k/year of shares to fund living expenses means paying CGT on the gain portion.

You do have a €1,270 annual exemption, and losses can be carried forward. Compared to the US (0-15% long-term CGT), Ireland's 33% rate significantly impacts portfolio longevity in FIRE.

The Irish State Pension (Contributory) is approximately €15,563/year (2026 rate). It kicks in at 66, rising to 67-68. This creates a "gap period" between your FIRE age and State Pension age that must be fully funded by your portfolio.

If you retire at 50, you need to fund 16+ years of expenses before State Pension starts — that's a significant portion of your FIRE number. The good news: once State Pension kicks in, your required portfolio withdrawal drops substantially.

Sequence of returns risk is the danger that the early years of your retirement coincide with a market downturn. If the market drops 20% in year 1 and you're withdrawing 4%, your portfolio may never recover.

Our Monte Carlo simulation runs 500 scenarios with random return sequences to estimate your success probability. A lower SWR (3-3.5%) andflexible spending are the best defenses against sequence risk.

Carrying a mortgage into retirement significantly increases your FIRE number. A €1,500/month mortgage payment adds €18,000/year to your required withdrawal, increasing your FIRE number by €450k–€562k (at 3.2-4% SWR).

Most FIRE planners recommend paying off your mortgage before retirementto eliminate this fixed cost and reduce portfolio stress.

Private health insurance in Ireland costs €1,500–€4,000/year per persondepending on age and cover level. In early retirement (pre-66), you won't qualify for a Medical Card unless your income is very low.

Budget €2,000–€3,000/year per person for a realistic health insurance cost in your FIRE projection. This is often overlooked but essential for Irish FIRE planning.

Most personal pensions in Ireland can be accessed from age 60 (to age 75). Some occupational pensions allow access from 50 for certain professions.

You can take 25% of your pension fund tax-free (up to €200,000) as a lump sum at retirement. This tax-free lump sum can serve as a bridge fund for the gap years between early retirement and pension access age.

Lean FIRE (~€20k-€30k/year spending) — minimalist lifestyle, often geo-arbitraged to lower-cost locations. FIRE number ~€600k-€900k.

Regular FIRE (~€30k-€50k/year) — comfortable middle-class lifestyle in Ireland. FIRE number ~€900k-€1.5M.

Fat FIRE (~€50k+/year) — luxury retirement with travel, dining, and premium healthcare. FIRE number €1.5M+.

Pension contributions in Ireland benefit from income tax relief at your marginal rate(up to 52%). This means every €1,000 you put into your pension costs you as little as €480after tax relief.

The maximum tax-relievable pension contribution is tied to your age (15-40% of earnings, capped at €115,000 earnings). Maxing out your pension is one of the most tax-efficient ways to build FIRE wealthin Ireland.

Monte Carlo simulation runs thousands of random market return scenarios to estimate the probability that your portfolio will survive your retirement. Our simulator runs 500 simulationswith normally-distributed returns (15% volatility).

A 95%+ success rate means your portfolio survived 95% of simulated scenarios. Most financial planners consider 80-90%+ an acceptable success rate for retirement planning.