401(k) Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement — with employer match, annual contribution limits, and compound growth over time.
Did this tool work for you?
How to use this calculator
- 1
Enter your annual salary, the percentage of it you contribute, and your employer’s match expressed as a percentage of salary.
- 2
Add your current 401(k) balance, your current age, the age you expect to stop contributing, and a constant expected annual return. A return of 0 gives a no-growth projection.
- 3
Your own contribution is limited to the employee figure built into this tool ($24,500, labelled 2026). The employer match is added in full and is not capped.
- 4
The monthly income line applies a 4% withdrawal rate to the projected balance. It is a rule of thumb, not a forecast.
Frequently asked questions
How does this calculator project the balance?
This tool uses an end-of-year contribution model. Your existing balance compounds for the number of years between your current age and your retirement age at the return you enter. Each year’s combined deposit (your contribution plus the employer match) is added at the end of that year and compounds for the remaining years. Salary is held flat, and inflation, fees and taxes are not applied.
Which contribution limit does it apply?
The figure built into this tool is $24,500 a year for employee deferrals, labelled 2026 in the code, and it is applied to your own contribution only. The catch-up amount for people aged 50 and over, the overall limit that includes employer money and the pay cap used for plan calculations are not modelled. If you enter a percentage that would exceed the limit, the Your annual contribution line shows the capped amount.
How is the employer match modelled?
The match is a single percentage of salary that you type in, and it is added every year whatever you contribute. The tool does not model formulas such as “50% of the first 6%”, vesting schedules or a ceiling on matched pay. If your plan matches a share of your deferrals, convert it into a percentage of salary before entering it.
What does the monthly retirement income figure mean?
It is the final balance multiplied by 4% and divided by 12. That reflects a common first-year withdrawal rule of thumb. It does not include Social Security, taxes on withdrawals, required minimum distributions or the effect of poor markets in the early years of retirement, and it makes no promise about how long the money lasts.
Does it treat Traditional and Roth 401(k) contributions differently?
No. A dollar contributed is a dollar contributed, and no income tax is applied to the final balance, so the result is a pre-tax projection of account value. The tool cannot say which contribution type suits you. Plan documents or a qualified tax adviser are the right source for that.
What happens with blank, zero or unusual inputs?
A return of 0, which is also what a cleared box becomes, is used as entered and produces a no-growth projection. An age of 0 in either age box is replaced by 30 for the current age and 65 for the retirement age. If the retirement age is not later than the current age, or the salary is zero, the result is a $0 balance rather than a projection. Part-years are accepted, so a retirement age of 65.5 adds half a year of growth and contributions.
Are the limits and rates kept up to date?
No. US retirement limits are revised every year, and the figures in this tool are fixed values labelled 2026 that are not updated automatically. Use the tool to compare scenarios, then confirm current limits with the IRS or your plan administrator, since they govern.
401(k) projections: balance, employer match and the contribution cap
How the projection is built
The tool first checks that you have a positive salary and at least one year until retirement. It then takes the smaller of your chosen percentage of salary and the employee limit built into the tool ($24,500, labelled 2026), adds the employer match as a flat percentage of salary, and treats the total as one deposit at the end of every year. Your current balance compounds separately for the whole period. The final balance is the compounded starting balance plus the compounded stream of deposits, and the 4% withdrawal line divides that balance by twelve. Salary is held level for every year, so the output is a level-contribution projection rather than a forecast of your career.
Two worked examples
With the default inputs ($80,000 salary, 10% contribution, 4% match, $25,000 already saved, age 30 to 65, 7% return) the tool shows a balance of $1,815,168. You put in $8,000 a year and the employer adds $3,200, so total invested over the 35 years is $417,000 and the investment gains line is $1,398,168. The 4% line gives $6,051 a month. A shorter horizon looks very different: $60,000 salary, 6% contribution, 3% match, nothing saved, age 40 to 67 and a 6% return gives $344,011 after 27 years, from $145,800 invested and $198,211 of growth, or $1,147 a month on the 4% rule.
Three runs side by side
The table lines up the two examples above with a third that sets the return to zero and uses a salary high enough for the requested deferral to exceed the built-in limit. In that last row the gains are exactly zero because nothing compounds, so the balance equals the starting balance plus every deposit.
| Inputs | You / employer per year | Balance at retirement | Monthly at 4% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $80,000; 10% + 4%; $25,000 saved; age 30 to 65; 7% | $8,000 / $3,200 | $1,815,168 | $6,051 |
| $60,000; 6% + 3%; $0 saved; age 40 to 67; 6% | $3,600 / $1,800 | $344,011 | $1,147 |
| $200,000; 15% + 5%; $100,000 saved; age 45 to 65; 0% | $24,500 / $10,000 | $790,000 | $2,633 |
When the cap bites
At a $200,000 salary and a 15% setting the requested deferral is $30,000, but the tool shows your annual contribution as $24,500 because that is the limit built into it. The employer’s $10,000 is added on top with no ceiling, since the tool applies none on that side, so large match percentages deserve caution. The catch-up amounts for people 50 and over (including the larger amount for ages 60 to 63) are not included even when your age input is above 50. Your own plan may also restrict how much you can defer.
What the number does not include
No tax is applied, so Traditional and Roth balances are treated alike and the result is a pre-tax account value. Fees, inflation, salary raises, vesting, loans and early-withdrawal penalties are absent, and the return is one fixed rate every year whereas real markets vary. Because a small change in the return moves a 35-year result by hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is more informative to run several rates, for example 4%, 6% and 8%, and read the range than to lean on a single output.
Learn more from an authoritative source:
InvestopediaRoth IRA vs Traditional IRA Calculator
Compare Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA to find which saves more in taxes — factoring in current vs retirement tax rates and contribution limits.
Social Security Benefit Estimator
Estimate your monthly Social Security benefit based on your average earnings, claiming age, and full retirement age — and compare early vs delayed claiming.
US Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Calculate US federal capital gains tax on stocks, real estate, and other assets — with LTCG 0%/15%/20% rates and STCG ordinary income rates, using the 2026 figures built into the tool.
US Sales Tax Calculator
Calculate the total price with sales tax in any US state using current state and average local rates — or work backwards from a total to the pre-tax price.
Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Calculate self-employment (SE) tax, the deductible half, and net income for freelancers, 1099 contractors, and small business owners.
US Mortgage Calculator
Calculate your monthly mortgage payment with PITI — principal, interest, property taxes, insurance, and optional PMI — for any US home loan.
Results are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional financial, medical, legal, or technical advice. Read full disclaimer →