BridgeToFI
A free early retirement calculator that actually models what happens between the day you quit and the day your 401(k) unlocks.
The Problem
Most retirement calculators assume you retire at 65 and have immediate access to all your money. That is not how early retirement works. If you walk away from a job at 45 or 50, you face a gap of roughly 10 to 15 years where your 401(k) and traditional IRA are locked behind a 10% penalty. You need a plan to bridge that gap, and the standard tools do not model it.
BridgeToFI was built specifically for this problem. It separates your money into three priority buckets based on when you can actually access it, then draws them down in the right order to get you from retirement day to account unlock day without running out or paying unnecessary taxes.
How It Works
P1 (Bridge Funds) are your taxable brokerage accounts, savings, and cash. No age restrictions, no penalties. This is your runway.
P2 (Reserve) covers Roth IRA and HSA accounts. You can pull out your contributions anytime, but the gains stay locked until 59 and a half. A safety net behind your bridge.
P3 (Locked) is everything in a 401(k) or traditional IRA. The calculator leaves these alone until they unlock, letting them compound while you spend from P1 and P2.
You add your real accounts, tag each one as P1, P2, or P3, and the calculator projects your wealth year by year through retirement. It handles the withdrawal sequence, tax implications, and timing automatically.
What You Can Model
- Roth conversion ladders with 5-year seasoning rule tracking per conversion year
- Progressive federal tax brackets (2025 IRS rates) with standard deduction, LTCG rates, and NIIT
- Monte Carlo simulations running 1,000 randomized scenarios against your exact plan
- Historical stress tests replaying 1929, 1966, 1973, and 2000 crash sequences
- Social Security optimization with breakeven analysis for claiming at 62, 67, or 70
- SEPP/72(t) distributions for penalty-free early access to retirement accounts
- Spending guardrails that adjust withdrawals based on portfolio performance
- Multi-region support for the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Eurozone, and India
- Healthcare cost modeling with pre-Medicare insurance and IRMAA surcharge estimates
- Partner/spouse planning with separate retirement ages and Social Security benefits
Privacy and Cost
Everything runs in your browser. There is no server, no database, no account to create, and no data transmitted anywhere. Your financial information stays on your device. The calculator is free, has no ads, and there are no plans to change that.
Who It Is For
Anyone planning to stop working before their retirement accounts become penalty-free. That includes people targeting traditional FIRE, those considering coast FIRE or barista FIRE, and anyone who just wants to understand how their money flows between different account types during early retirement. If you have ever stared at a 401(k) balance and wondered how you are actually supposed to live on it before you turn 60, this is the tool.