Retirement Learning Centre

12 guides to the ideas a retirement plan is built on: what each one means, where the numbers come from, what the assumptions hide, and which RetirePeace calculator puts it to work. Written to be useful on their own, with no sign-up and nothing to buy.

Where to start

Work out the target: How much money do I need to retire?
Understand what erodes it: Planning for inflation
Build the corpus: Compound growth explained
Turn it into an income: What is an SWP?
Test whether it survives: How long will my money last?
Check the modelling: How RetirePeace calculates

Retirement planning

Working out the number you are aiming at, and what makes it move.

01How much money do I need to retire?The honest answer is that the number comes from your spending, not your salary, and that four inputs decide almost all of it.02Planning for inflation: why the same income buys less every yearA retirement plan that ignores inflation is not optimistic. It is measuring the wrong thing.

FIRE

Financial independence: what the target really represents.

01What is FIRE, and how is a FIRE number actually built?FIRE is not a strategy or a product. It is a single arithmetic condition, plus a decision about how much margin you want.02Thinking About Retiring Early? Don’t Rush the DecisionReaching a number tells you something useful about your finances. On its own it does not tell you that leaving your job is the right decision.

Growing the corpus

How money compounds on the way up, and which assumptions matter.

01Compound growth: why starting early beats investing moreCompounding is a slow process that finishes quickly, which is why the timing of the first contribution matters more than its size.02How to choose return and inflation assumptions you can defendEvery calculator on this site is only as good as two numbers you supply. Here is how to choose them without quietly rigging the answer.

Withdrawals and SWP

Turning a corpus into an income that survives inflation.

01What is an SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plan)?An SWP is the mirror image of a SIP: instead of paying in on a schedule, you take money out on a schedule while the balance stays invested.02SWP and inflation: keeping a withdrawal plan honestA fixed monthly withdrawal makes almost any SWP look sustainable. That appearance is one of the most common errors in retirement planning.03How long will my retirement corpus last?One ratio, the first year’s withdrawal as a percentage of the corpus, predicts more about the outcome than everything else combined.

Drawdown strategy

Risks that only appear once you start spending the portfolio.

01Sequence-of-returns risk: why the order of returns mattersWhile you are saving, the order of returns barely matters. Once you are withdrawing, it can be the difference between a comfortable retirement and running out.02The two-bucket strategy explainedThe two-bucket approach does not try to earn more. It tries to make sure you never have to sell a growth asset at the wrong moment.

Methodology

Exactly what the RetirePeace calculators do, and what they leave out.

01How RetirePeace calculates: methodology, conventions and limitsEvery projection on this site rests on modelling choices. This page states them, including the two places where our own calculators deliberately differ from each other.

Put it to work

All five calculators are free, need no sign-up, and run entirely in your browser.

FIRE Calculator→

Estimate the corpus that would cover your expenses without a salary.

Investment Growth Calculator→

Project how a lump sum and a monthly SIP build up over time.

Retirement Calculator→

Build a corpus and draw an income from it in one projection.

Advanced SWP Calculator→

Model a year-by-year withdrawal plan with inflation and one-off costs.

2-Bucket Strategy Calculator→

Split the corpus into an income bucket and a growth bucket that refills it.

Everything in the Learning Centre is educational. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and it is not tailored to your circumstances. See the full disclaimer, and consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.