for the girls, the gays & the theys who grew up broke

Become your own sugar daddy.

Find your Unicorn Number: how much you need to retire early in the UK, and the age you could stop working. A free FIRE calculator with no sign-up and no judgement.

Find my number 🦄 Wait, how does it work?

The Unicorn Calculator

Everything is in today's money, so £1 means what £1 buys now. Your numbers never leave your browser.

£

ISAs, pensions, savings — whatever you've got. £0 is valid, babe.

£
£

Rent, food, bills, nights out, the lot — at today's prices. Don't worry about inflation, we handle it for you (see the results).

Your unicorn-era lifestyle

Once you stop working, will you spend less than now, the same, or more?

Investment growth vibes

How much your investments grow on top of inflation. We assume inflation of 2.5% a year (a bit above the Bank of England's 2% target), so "Middle" means roughly 7% a year before inflation. Nobody knows the future — middle is a sensible guess for a mostly-shares portfolio over decades.

Nerd settings
Safe withdrawal rate

How much of your pot you take out in year one. 4% comes from US research on 30-year retirements; retiring young means a longer stretch, so lower is safer.

My Unicorn Number
£540,000

I become my own sugar daddy at 54 🦄

Hot girl summer at 54. Not bad, babe.
@thebrokeunicorn 🦄
Years to go
26
Yearly spend then
£21,600
You'd put in
£98k
Growth did
£440k

💡 Tiny tweak, big glow-up

Put away £100 more a month and you get there about 3 years sooner.

🔮 Peek at your pot

Your pot in today's money
£0
In future pounds
£0

📈 What about inflation?

Your money glow-up

Pink line = your pot. Dotted line = your Unicorn Number.

🇬🇧 The UK small print

🔮 Got an ISA and a pension?

They unlock at different ages, and that's where early retirement plans break. Split your money into ISA, pension and State Pension pots in the Pot Planner.

Wait, what's a Unicorn Number?

It's the grown-up "FIRE number", minus the finance-bro energy.

1

Work out your yearly spend

Monthly spend × 12, adjusted for how cosy or bougie you want your unicorn era to be, plus a bit extra for tax if your money isn't in ISAs.

2

Divide by your withdrawal rate

At 4%, that's yearly spend × 25. A pot that size should be able to pay you every year, rising with inflation, for a very long time.

3

Let time do the heavy lifting

We grow your savings month by month until they hit the number. That age is when work becomes a choice, not a must.

The tea ☕

Money things nobody told us growing up.

The Lifetime ISA is basically free money (with a catch)

Open one between 18 and 39, put in up to £4,000 a year, and the government adds 25% — up to £1,000 free, every year. The catch: it's only for a first home (up to £450k) or after 60. Take it out for anything else and the 25% penalty takes back more than the bonus. Like a situationship: great if you know what you want.

Plot twist: the government plans to replace it with a First-Time Buyer ISA from April 2028, for home-buying only. Existing Lifetime ISAs carry on, and you can still open one until then.

Based on the June 2026 consultation. Rules can change, so check gov.uk before you open one.

Not married? Get a will. Seriously.

In England and Wales, if you're not married or in a civil partnership and there's no will, your partner inherits nothing automatically. Not the flat, not the savings, not the air fryer. It goes to their family. Yes, that family. A simple will often costs £100–£200.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.

Emergency fund before glow-up fund

Growing up broke means one surprise bill can wreck a month. Before investing, a common rule of thumb is to keep 3–6 months of essential costs in easy-access savings. It's not glamorous. It is peace of mind.

General info, not personal advice.

Questions people actually ask

Retiring early in the UK, minus the jargon.

How much do I need to retire early in the UK?

A common rule of thumb is your yearly spending × 25, which is the 4% rule. So if you'd spend £20,000 a year, that's £500,000. Retiring young means a longer retirement, so many people use × 28 to × 33 (a 3.5% or 3% withdrawal rate) to be safer. If your money is in a pension, add a bit for tax. The State Pension can cover part of your spending later on.

What is a FIRE number (or Unicorn Number)?

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Your FIRE number, which we call your Unicorn Number, is the amount of invested money that could pay for your lifestyle every year, rising with inflation, so work becomes optional.

When can I access my pension in the UK?

You can usually take money from a private or workplace pension from age 55. This rises to 57 from 6 April 2028, unless you have a protected pension age. Money in an ISA can be taken out at any time.

What is the 57 gap?

If you stop working before 57, your pension is still locked, so you need money you can actually touch, like ISAs or savings, to pay the bills until then. The Pot Planner shows whether your ISA would run out before your pension unlocks.

How much is the State Pension and when does it start?

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week (£12,548 a year) from April 2026. You usually need 35 years of National Insurance to get the full amount. State Pension age is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and under current law to 68 for anyone born from 6 April 1977. Check your own forecast on GOV.UK.

Does the calculator include inflation?

Yes. Everything is shown in today's money, so £1 means what £1 buys now. We assume 2.5% inflation and investment growth on top of that, and we also show what your numbers would look like in future pounds.

Is this financial advice?

No. Broke Unicorn is general information and maths for education. For advice on your own situation, speak to a regulated financial adviser or the free, government-backed MoneyHelper service.