# Early retirement depends mainly on savings rate For a millennial, retirement sounds like a distant horizon, all the more so as the retirement age will likely be postponed a few times again as the French population ages. There is, in my opinion, some uncertainty over France's ability to maintain its current pension scheme until my time comes, and I certainly do not think it is wise to rely entirely on it. Furthermore, it has been a few years since I have discovered the [[Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE)]] movement, and I must admit the prospect of retiring before 50 sounds alluring. "But you need to inherit or earn an insane amount of money for that, don't you ?" As it turns out, not quite. For sure, reasonably high earnings will often help achieve this objective faster. However, the number one priority is to ==**increase your savings rate**==. As illustrated in [this retirement calculator](https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement), **for a given annual return on investment (ROI) and withdrawal rate target, ==savings rate will single-handedly decide your retirement date, no matter what your annual income is==**. This makes sense because, if you spend less, you naturally need less money to sustain your lifestyle. For instance, if you: - estimate a 5% annual ROI, - aim for a 4% withdrawal rate, - and maintain a 50% savings rate, then **you will be able to retire in 16.6 years, whether you earn €100,000 or €20,000 a year**. Now, it is certainly easier to save 50% of a €100,000 net annual income than a €20,000 one, because living implies fixed costs such as housing, food and transportation. However, you should not underestimate the power of compound interest.