Coast FIRE Calculator for Teachers
Teacher retirement plans can combine a pension with personal retirement accounts, and the details vary by employer and state. Enter your actual plan estimates to see how leaving teaching at different points changes your Coast FIRE projection.
Your Teacher Coast FIRE Plan
Live CalculationEnter your actual teacher pension estimate, personal retirement investments, and target retirement spending.
Enter the pension benefit shown by your retirement system for the teaching-exit scenario you are modeling. (Enter $0 if not receiving a pension).
Teacher Retirement Accounts (403b, 457b, IRAs)
Break down balances across plan types. Values sum once into current investments without double counting.
Your Teacher Coast FIRE Position
At your target retirement age of 60, a pension of $20,000/yr offsets retirement spending, reducing your portfolio target from $1,250,000 to $750,000.
Portfolio Projection
Projected growth from age 32 to 60
What If You Teach a Few More Years?
Compare up to 3 custom teaching exit milestones using official pension estimates from your retirement system statement.
Is Your Pension Currently Vested?
InformationalYour Pension and Personal Retirement Savings
Pension income provides a guaranteed recurring cash flow that offsets retirement spending, while personal accounts provide liquid investment capital. They are kept separate rather than converting the pension into a synthetic lump-sum asset.
Current Plan-Limit Reference (2026 Limits)
Additional age-based catch-up and certain 15-years-of-service provisions may apply for eligible participants.
The IRS provides a separate deferral limit for an eligible 457(b) rather than combining it with the 403(b) limit.
Actual plan availability and contribution eligibility depend on the plan.
What Happens Between Leaving Teaching and Full Retirement?
Model the 15-year transition period between leaving the classroom at age 45 and fully retiring at age 60.
Does Your Teaching Job Participate in Social Security?
Social Security coverage for state and local government school employment varies by district and state arrangements.
The Social Security Fairness Act repealed WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) and GPO (Government Pension Offset) for benefits payable after December 2023. SSA began implementing the change in 2025. Use your current SSA benefit estimate. Explore Coast FIRE With Social Security →
Planning Assumptions: 7% return · 3% inflation · 0.1% fees · 4% withdrawal rateChange assumptions
Teacher Retirement Can Have More Than One Date
Leaving the classroom, becoming eligible for a pension and fully retiring do not always happen at the same age. Modeling those dates separately avoids assuming that leaving teaching means immediately drawing from retirement investments. A teacher who transitions to private-sector work, freelancing, or part-time consulting at age 45 may leave their pension deferred until age 60, allowing existing 403(b) and 457(b) assets to continue compounding untouched.
Use Your Actual Pension Estimate
Teacher pension formulas and eligibility rules vary by retirement system. For example, CalSTRS calculates benefits using age factors, service credit, and final compensation, whereas Texas TRS uses distinct membership tiers, rule-of-80/90 requirements, and service credit formulas. Entering the exact pension benefit shown on your official member portal or annual statement for each exit scenario provides an accurate baseline rather than applying a generic national multiplier or arbitrary savings percentage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I enter if I leave teaching before my pension is vested?
Use the benefit your retirement system says you would retain after leaving. If no future pension would remain under that scenario, enter $0 rather than assuming continued pension eligibility.
Can I leave teaching before the age when I plan to fully retire?
Yes. Enter a teaching-exit age separately from full retirement age. The calculator can then model your existing investments and any contributions made during the years between those dates.
How should I enter a 403(b) and governmental 457(b) if I have both?
Enter each balance separately so the accounts remain visible. The calculator can combine amounts earmarked for retirement for the Coast projection while keeping their plan-specific access rules separate.
Can a teacher contribute to both a 403(b) and a 457(b)?
Federal tax rules provide a separate deferral limit for an eligible 457(b) rather than combining it with the 403(b) limit. Actual availability and permitted contributions still depend on the employer’s plans.
Do all public-school teachers pay into Social Security?
No. Social Security coverage for state and local school employment varies. Check your pay statement and Social Security record rather than assuming that having a teacher pension automatically means Social Security is included or excluded.
Do WEP and GPO still reduce Social Security for teachers with government pensions?
Current federal law repealed WEP and GPO for benefits payable after December 2023. Use your current SSA benefit estimate rather than older calculators or articles that still apply those reductions.
What if my pension estimate increases if I teach one more school year?
Enter the official pension estimate for each teaching-exit scenario. The comparison should show the different pension amount and additional investment contributions without deciding whether the additional year of work is preferable.
Verified Sources & Methodology
Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans) For Employees of Public Schools
Governmental 457(b) contribution limits and early distribution provisions
Section 218 agreements and Social Security Fairness Act implementation
Individual member pension benefit estimates, service credits, and start age rules
Real return formula, phase-aware pension discounting, and Coast target modeling
Use the Right Calculator for the Next Question
Move between the main calculator, focused tools, and plain-English guides without changing the site experience.
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