What is the Freedom Number — and how do you calculate yours?
The capital that makes work genuinely optional, and why the 25x rule gets it wrong for high earners.
By Ian Richards FPFS · Chartered Financial Planner · Work to Live Financial Planning
Article · Make Work Optional · 7 minute read · Last reviewed September 2026
SHORT ANSWER
Your Freedom Number is the capital you need, at a chosen age, for work to become genuinely optional. It is not a just a multiple of salary or the 25x rule. It is calculated from a cashflow model using your real spending, future plans, your pensions and investments, the State Pension and the age you want the choice to be yours.
Why don’t most people have one?
Most successful people in their 40s have a reasonable sense of their income and a rough idea of what’s in their pension. What they almost never have is a single number that joins the two together.
The result is anxiety that has nothing to do with not having enough money. It is the anxiety of not knowing. Of running on hope - the pension is probably fine, the ISAs are probably enough, the trajectory is probably right. The Freedom Number replaces “probably” with an answer.
Why doesn’t the 25x rule work?
A simple rule of thumb says multiply the income you want by 25. Want to spend £80,000 a year? You need £2 million. It is clean and easy to remember. For high earners it can be badly misleading, because:
- It ignores the State Pension. A full new State Pension is £12,547.60 a year in 2026/27. For a couple, that is about £25,000 a year needing no capital — worth up to around £600,000 off the 25x figure, depending on your target age.
- It ignores tax. You spend net income. Which wrappers you draw from, and in what order, changes how much gross income you need.
- It ignores what you already have. A defined benefit pension, rental income or future share vests all reduce the capital you need to build.
- It ignores your real spending. Most people underestimate what life costs once they have more time. Travel, hobbies and deferred plans all cost money. It also doesn’t take account of your spending at different ages.
The 25x rule is a useful conversation starter. It is not a plan.
How is the Freedom Number actually calculated?
It starts with life, not assets. What does a genuinely good year cost? What does work-optional look like for you - fully stopped, two days a week, consulting on your terms? At what age does it need to be true? How long might you work at a slower pace first?
From those answers, a cashflow model works backwards across every pension, ISA, investment, share award and liability. The figure that emerges is the capital that, invested and drawn sensibly, funds the life you’ve described for as long as you need it.
In practice I work with clients to set a realistic ballpark rather than a precise figure. What you want at 45 is not always what you want at 55, so the number is refined every year. It isn’t a guarantee — returns vary and life shifts — but it gives every financial decision a destination.
Your Freedom Number is personal. Two people with the same salary and the same pension can have very different numbers, because their lives, target ages and tax positions differ.
What changes once you know your number?
Decisions get context. The pension carry-forward decision makes sense. The RSU strategy makes sense. Whether to overpay the mortgage or invest has a clearer answer, because you can model both against the target.
It works the other way too. Many high earners feel guilty spending money despite saving well. The same model shows what you can afford to spend now without damaging the future. It turns spending from a source of anxiety into a confident choice. Many of the people I work with are closer to work-optional than they think. They just don’t have the number yet.
Is the Freedom Number the same as a retirement number?
No. The goal isn’t retirement. It is choice — the freedom to decide what work looks like. That might still include some work. It might not. The point is that it becomes optional.
TWO EXECUTIVES
Similar income, similar assets, similar age. Executive A has never calculated a Freedom Number. The pension is being funded and the ISAs are ticking along. Things feel broadly on track, but there is no way of knowing whether the trajectory gets there or falls short by a decade.
Executive B set a Freedom Number ballpark two years ago. Carry-forward was used in year one. ISAs are filled every April. RSU decisions are made with the target in mind. The model is reviewed every year. Same starting point but a completely different relationship with money and with the future.
Illustrative example only, not a real client. Not a recommendation or typical outcome. Figures based on 2026/27 rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Freedom Number in financial planning?
The Freedom Number is the capital sum, at a chosen age, that makes work genuinely optional. It is calculated from a full cashflow model based on actual spending, existing assets, the State Pension and a target age — not a formula or rule of thumb.
Is the 25x rule a reliable way to plan for financial independence?
It is a useful starting point but not a reliable plan. It ignores the State Pension, tax in drawdown, existing assets such as defined benefit pensions, your target age and your real spending. For high earners these can change the answer by hundreds of thousands of pounds.
What is the difference between a Freedom Number and a pension pot target?
A pension pot target is usually a generic figure. A Freedom Number is specific to one person and covers all assets, not just pensions — including the ISAs and investments needed to fund the years before pension access.
What assets count towards a Freedom Number?
Anything that can fund life once work is optional: pensions, ISAs, general investment accounts, cash and, where relevant, property equity. Unvested RSUs or share awards are usually modelled as possible future inflows rather than money you can count on today.
Can I calculate my own Freedom Number?
You can get a rough starting point, but a usable Freedom Number needs a cashflow model that accounts for tax, the State Pension, timing of pension access and your full financial picture. Many people do the first version themselves and use a planner to test it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Richards FPFS is a Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society, and the founder of Work to Live Financial Planning. He works with senior executives, equity partners and business owners who have built real wealth and want a joined-up plan that makes work optional — without waiting for retirement to start living.
Want to know your number?
Your Freedom Number is built as part of the Work to Live Blueprint. If you want to know where you stand first, book a Discovery Call — an honest read on whether your current path gets you to work-optional, and when.
Book a Discovery Call · worktolivefinancialplanning.com
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This content is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the full amount invested. A pension is a long-term investment and its value is not guaranteed. Levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances; figures quoted are for the 2026/27 tax year and should be confirmed before acting. The FCA does not regulate cashflow planning, tax planning or some aspects of estate planning. Illustrative examples are not typical outcomes. Work to Live Financial Planning Limited is an appointed representative of ValidPath Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA No. 197107). Company No. 12059588.
