401(k) Retirement Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement using your salary, contribution rate, employer match, and expected return.
What is a 401(k) retirement calculator?
A 401(k) calculator projects what your retirement account will be worth from six inputs: your current balance, salary, the percentage you contribute, your employer's match, the return you expect, and the years until you retire. Enter them above to see the balance at retirement, split into your contributions, your employer's match, and investment growth.
The 401(k) is the main retirement vehicle for most American workers: contributions come out of your paycheck before tax, the employer often adds money, and the balance grows untaxed until withdrawal. The calculator makes the two big decisions concrete — how much to contribute, and how much a few years' delay costs.
Where a retirement balance comes from
Starting with $25,000, earning $75,000, contributing 10% with a 50% employer match on the first 6%, at 7% a year for 30 years:
| Source | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Your contributions ($7,500 a year) | $225,000 | 20% |
| Employer match ($2,250 a year) | $67,500 | 6% |
| Starting balance | $25,000 | 2% |
| Investment growth | $822,987 | 72% |
| Balance at retirement | $1,140,487 |
Nearly three-quarters of the final balance is growth on money that was invested early. The employer match alone — $67,500 of contributions that cost you nothing — grows to roughly $219,000 of the total.
Contribution rate: what each percentage point is worth
| You contribute | Employer adds | Balance after 30 years |
|---|---|---|
| 3% | 1.5% | $519,215 |
| 6% (captures the full match) | 3% | $848,123 |
| 10% | 3% | $1,140,487 |
| 15% | 3% | $1,505,941 |
Going from 3% to 6% adds $329,000 — the largest jump per point, because it doubles the employer match. Every percentage point above the match cap is worth about $73,000 at retirement on this salary. Most planners suggest saving 15% of gross income including the match; 6%–10% is the minimum that captures the match at a typical employer.
Time: the cost of waiting
| Years of saving (same inputs) | Balance |
|---|---|
| 10 | $188,158 |
| 20 | $509,115 |
| 30 | $1,140,487 |
| 40 | $2,382,489 |
The fourth decade adds more than the first three combined. Starting at 25 instead of 35 roughly doubles the balance at 65 with identical contributions.
Return assumptions and fees
At 5% the 30-year balance is $770,541; at 7%, $1,140,487; at 9%, $1,714,659. The long-run U.S. stock market average is about 10% before inflation and 7% after; a 60/40 stock-bond mix is nearer 5% real. Use 7% for an all-stock allocation in today's dollars and 5%–6% if you hold significant bonds. Fees come straight off the return: a fund charging 0.5% more a year turns the 7% case into a 6.5% case and costs about $108,000 over 30 years on this example. Index funds and target-date funds inside most plans charge 0.03%–0.20%; anything above 0.5% deserves a second look.
2026 contribution limits
- Employee contributions: $24,500 a year (traditional and Roth 401(k) combined)
- Age 50 and over: an additional $8,000 catch-up ($32,500 total); ages 60–63 get a higher catch-up of $11,250 under the 2022 SECURE 2.0 law
- Employer contributions do not count toward the employee limit; the combined limit is $72,000
Limits are adjusted for inflation each year — check the current IRS figures. Employer contributions vest on a schedule (immediately, or over up to six years); leaving before you are vested forfeits the unvested match.
Will it be enough? The 4% rule
A common planning rule is that a diversified portfolio can sustain withdrawals of about 4% of its starting value a year, adjusted for inflation, for 30 years. The $1.14 million example supports about $45,600 a year, on top of Social Security. Turned around, you need roughly 25 times your annual spending from savings: $60,000 a year of spending beyond Social Security requires about $1.5 million. Most people need 70%–80% of pre-retirement income to maintain their lifestyle, less if the mortgage is paid off.
Formula
Each year the account receives two contributions:
- Yours = salary × your contribution %
- Employer match = salary × min(your %, match cap) × match rate — a "50% match up to 6%" adds 3% of salary if you contribute 6% or more, and 1.5% if you contribute 3%
The starting balance compounds annually at the expected return for the full period: P × (1 + r)years. The annual contributions are spread across twelve months and compound as an annuity at the equivalent monthly rate m = (1 + r)1/12 − 1:
FVcontributions = (annual contributions ÷ 12) × ((1 + m)12 × years − 1) ÷ m
Balance at retirement = both parts added; growth = balance − starting balance − your contributions − employer match. Salary and contribution rates are held constant, so a real career with raises will do better than the projection.
Worked example
Starting balance $25,000, salary $75,000, contributing 10%, employer matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary, 7% return, 30 years:
- Your contribution: 75,000 × 10% = $7,500 a year ($625 a month)
- Employer match: 75,000 × 6% × 50% = $2,250 a year (the 6% cap, not your 10%, sets the match)
- Starting balance grows to 25,000 × 1.0730 = $190,306
- Monthly contributions of $812.50 at m = 0.5654% for 360 months grow to $950,181
- Balance at retirement = $1,140,487
- Of which: your contributions $225,000, employer $67,500, starting balance $25,000, growth $822,987
How to use this calculator
- Enter your current 401(k) balance (0 if you are starting).
- Enter your annual salary.
- Enter the percentage of salary you contribute.
- Enter the employer match: the match rate (50% or 100% are typical) and the cap as a percentage of salary (3% to 6% is typical). Your HR portal or plan summary states both.
- Enter the expected annual return — 7% for a stock-heavy allocation in today's dollars, 5%–6% with significant bonds.
- Enter the years until retirement, and read the projected balance and its sources.
Getting more out of the plan
- Always contribute at least to the match cap. Below it you are declining part of your pay.
- Raise the rate with each pay rise — one point a year is painless and compounds. Many plans offer auto-escalation.
- Check the fund fees. A broad index or target-date fund at under 0.2% beats an actively managed fund at 1% on almost every 30-year horizon.
- Know your vesting schedule before changing jobs; a few months can be worth thousands of employer dollars.
- Roll over, do not cash out. Cashing out a 401(k) when leaving a job costs income tax plus a 10% penalty under 59½ and, worse, all the future growth. Roll it into the new plan or an IRA.
- Roth or traditional? Traditional contributions cut tax now; Roth contributions are taxed now and withdrawn tax-free. If you expect a higher tax rate in retirement (early career, low current bracket) Roth wins; in a high bracket now, traditional usually does. Splitting is reasonable.
Related tools
- Compound interest calculator — any lump sum plus regular deposits
- Paycheck calculator — what a 401(k) contribution costs in take-home pay
- 401(k) early withdrawal calculator — the true cost of cashing out
- Savings goal calculator — monthly saving needed for a target
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical employer match?
The most common formula is 50% of your contributions up to 6% of salary — the employer adds 3% of pay if you contribute at least 6%. Many employers match 100% up to 3%–4%, and some use a combination (100% of the first 3%, then 50% of the next 2%). On a $75,000 salary a 3% match is $2,250 a year of free money; over 30 years at 7% it grows to about $219,000.
What is a realistic expected return?
About 7% a year after inflation for an all-stock portfolio, based on a century of U.S. market history (roughly 10% before inflation), and 5%–6% for a balanced stock-bond mix. Using the after-inflation figure means the projected balance is in today's dollars. Assume less rather than more: a plan that works at 6% is robust; one that needs 9% is a hope.
What are the 2026 contribution limits?
Employees can contribute $24,500 in 2026, plus an $8,000 catch-up from age 50 ($32,500 total); those aged 60–63 have a larger $11,250 catch-up. Employer contributions are on top, up to a combined $72,000. The limits are indexed to inflation and change most years, so confirm the current figures with the IRS or your plan.
Should I choose Traditional or Roth 401(k)?
Traditional contributions reduce taxable income now and are taxed on withdrawal; Roth contributions are taxed now and come out tax-free, including all the growth. Roth tends to win if your tax rate in retirement will be higher than today (early career, lower bracket, or you expect rates to rise); traditional wins if you are in a high bracket now. Employer matches always go into the traditional side. Many people split contributions to hedge.
How much should I have saved by age 30, 40, 50?
A widely used benchmark is 1× your salary by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60 and 10× by 67, which supports roughly a 70%–80% replacement of pre-retirement income alongside Social Security. Being behind is common and fixable: the contribution-rate and time tables above show that raising the rate by a few points, or working three more years, moves the result substantially.
What is the 4% rule?
A retirement spending guideline: withdraw 4% of the portfolio in the first year and raise that dollar amount with inflation each year, and a diversified portfolio has historically lasted at least 30 years. It implies a target of about 25 times your annual spending from savings. Some planners now suggest 3.5% for longer retirements or lower expected returns.
What happens to my 401(k) if I change jobs?
Your own contributions and any vested employer match are yours. You can leave the account where it is (if the balance is over $7,000), roll it into the new employer's plan, or roll it into an IRA — all without tax. Cashing out triggers income tax plus a 10% penalty if you are under 59½ and forfeits decades of growth; it is almost never the right choice. Unvested employer contributions are forfeited.
Does the calculator include Social Security?
No — it projects the 401(k) alone. Social Security replaces roughly 40% of pre-retirement income for an average earner (less for high earners), so combine the two: a $1.14 million balance supporting $45,600 a year under the 4% rule, plus Social Security of $25,000–$35,000, gives a retirement income of $70,000–$80,000. The SSA's my Social Security account shows your personal estimate.