401(k) Calculator
Project your future 401(k) balance using your contributions, employer match, investment returns, fees, inflation, and retirement goals.
Enter your workplace plan assumptions and select Calculate.
401(k) Details
401(k) Projection
- Value in today’s dollars
- $1,045,460.98
- Total employee contributions
- $475,754.16
- Total employer match
- $142,726.25
- Net investment growth
- $1,499,444.65
- Investment fees
- $57,767.89
- Fee drag with lost growth
- $116,520.60
- Estimated monthly retirement income
- $7,309.75
- Employee rate needed for goal
- 5.06%
- Future projections hold the entered 2026 limits and plan assumptions constant; IRS limits and employer plan terms can change.
- Employer vesting, true-up rules, payroll timing, taxes, withdrawals, and investment volatility are not modeled.
401(k) growth scenarios
Lower, expected, and higher paths based on the return range entered.
Where the balance comes from
Starting balance plus employee deposits, employer match, and net growth.
Annual 401(k) Schedule
| Year | Age | Salary | Beginning | Employee | Employer | Return | Fees | Ending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 | $100,000.00 | $75,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $3,000.00 | $5,655.61 | $209.81 | $93,445.80 |
| 2 | 36 | $103,000.00 | $93,445.80 | $10,300.00 | $3,090.00 | $6,957.67 | $258.11 | $113,535.36 |
| 3 | 37 | $106,090.00 | $113,535.36 | $10,609.00 | $3,182.70 | $8,375.02 | $310.69 | $135,391.39 |
| 4 | 38 | $109,272.70 | $135,391.39 | $10,927.27 | $3,278.18 | $9,916.27 | $367.86 | $159,145.26 |
| 5 | 39 | $112,550.88 | $159,145.26 | $11,255.09 | $3,376.53 | $11,590.61 | $429.98 | $184,937.51 |
| 6 | 40 | $115,927.41 | $184,937.51 | $11,592.74 | $3,477.82 | $13,407.88 | $497.39 | $212,918.55 |
| 7 | 41 | $119,405.23 | $212,918.55 | $11,940.52 | $3,582.16 | $15,378.59 | $570.50 | $243,249.33 |
| 8 | 42 | $122,987.39 | $243,249.33 | $12,298.74 | $3,689.62 | $17,514.03 | $649.72 | $276,102.00 |
| 9 | 43 | $126,677.01 | $276,102.00 | $12,667.70 | $3,800.31 | $19,826.24 | $735.49 | $311,660.76 |
| 10 | 44 | $130,477.32 | $311,660.76 | $13,047.73 | $3,914.32 | $22,328.11 | $828.31 | $350,122.62 |
| 11 | 45 | $134,391.64 | $350,122.62 | $13,439.16 | $4,031.75 | $25,033.43 | $928.66 | $391,698.30 |
| 12 | 46 | $138,423.39 | $391,698.30 | $13,842.34 | $4,152.70 | $27,956.95 | $1,037.12 | $436,613.18 |
| 13 | 47 | $142,576.09 | $436,613.18 | $14,257.61 | $4,277.28 | $31,114.44 | $1,154.25 | $485,108.26 |
| 14 | 48 | $146,853.37 | $485,108.26 | $14,685.34 | $4,405.60 | $34,522.77 | $1,280.69 | $537,441.28 |
| 15 | 49 | $151,258.97 | $537,441.28 | $15,125.90 | $4,537.77 | $38,199.97 | $1,417.10 | $593,887.81 |
| 16 | 50 | $155,796.74 | $593,887.81 | $15,579.67 | $4,673.90 | $42,165.32 | $1,564.21 | $654,742.50 |
| 17 | 51 | $160,470.64 | $654,742.50 | $16,047.06 | $4,814.12 | $46,439.45 | $1,722.76 | $720,320.37 |
| 18 | 52 | $165,284.76 | $720,320.37 | $16,528.48 | $4,958.54 | $51,044.39 | $1,893.59 | $790,958.19 |
| 19 | 53 | $170,243.31 | $790,958.19 | $17,024.33 | $5,107.30 | $56,003.72 | $2,077.57 | $867,015.97 |
| 20 | 54 | $175,350.61 | $867,015.97 | $17,535.06 | $5,260.52 | $61,342.61 | $2,275.63 | $948,878.53 |
| 21 | 55 | $180,611.12 | $948,878.53 | $18,061.11 | $5,418.33 | $67,088.00 | $2,488.76 | $1,036,957.21 |
| 22 | 56 | $186,029.46 | $1,036,957.21 | $18,602.95 | $5,580.88 | $73,268.66 | $2,718.05 | $1,131,691.66 |
| 23 | 57 | $191,610.34 | $1,131,691.66 | $19,161.03 | $5,748.31 | $79,915.35 | $2,964.62 | $1,233,551.73 |
| 24 | 58 | $197,358.65 | $1,233,551.73 | $19,735.87 | $5,920.76 | $87,060.95 | $3,229.70 | $1,343,039.61 |
| 25 | 59 | $203,279.41 | $1,343,039.61 | $20,327.94 | $6,098.38 | $94,740.58 | $3,514.59 | $1,460,691.93 |
| 26 | 60 | $209,377.79 | $1,460,691.93 | $20,937.78 | $6,281.33 | $102,991.80 | $3,820.68 | $1,587,082.15 |
| 27 | 61 | $215,659.13 | $1,587,082.15 | $21,565.91 | $6,469.77 | $111,854.71 | $4,149.47 | $1,722,823.07 |
| 28 | 62 | $222,128.90 | $1,722,823.07 | $22,212.89 | $6,663.87 | $121,372.18 | $4,502.54 | $1,868,569.47 |
| 29 | 63 | $228,792.77 | $1,868,569.47 | $22,879.28 | $6,863.78 | $131,590.03 | $4,881.59 | $2,025,020.96 |
| 30 | 64 | $235,656.55 | $2,025,020.96 | $23,565.66 | $7,069.70 | $142,557.18 | $5,288.44 | $2,192,925.06 |
Contribution limit year 2026. Educational estimate only.
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What does the 401(k) Calculator calculate?
The 401(k) Calculator converts the values you enter into a structured estimate using the formulas and assumptions documented on this page. Use the result to compare scenarios, review the calculation details, and identify sensitive inputs. Check the guide and formula sections before using the estimate for an important decision.
401(k) Calculator at a Glance
- Projects employee contributions, employer match, investment growth, and fees to retirement.
- Uses editable limit year, deferral, catch-up, annual-additions, and compensation assumptions.
- Shows missed match, contribution rate needed for a goal, inflation-adjusted value, and illustrative retirement income.
- Compares lower, expected, and higher return scenarios without presenting them as forecasts.
History
Section 401(k) plans became a major U.S. workplace retirement-saving tool after rules allowing employees to defer part of their pay into qualified plans took effect. Over time, automatic enrollment, employer matching, designated Roth contributions, and age-based catch-up rules expanded the decisions participants face.
Annual federal limits are adjusted periodically, while each employer plan can impose its own eligibility, match, payroll, vesting, and investment rules. This calculator therefore keeps legal-limit and plan assumptions visible and editable.
What This 401(k) Calculator Does
The calculator projects a current workplace-plan balance using age, retirement age, salary, salary growth, employee contribution rate, employer match, return, fees, inflation, contribution timing, and editable limits. Use realistic inputs and review the 401(k) Calculator assumptions before relying on this result for decisions.
It reports projected balance, employee deposits, employer match, investment growth, fees, fee drag, first-year limits and missed match, target status, required contribution rate, illustrative monthly retirement income, annual schedules, and return paths.
Who Should Use It?
Use it when setting a payroll deferral, checking whether a match may be left unused, reviewing fees, comparing retirement ages, or testing progress toward a workplace-plan goal. Use realistic inputs and review the 401(k) Calculator assumptions before relying on this result for decisions.
It is not a plan-administration, tax, investment-selection, or withdrawal calculator. Confirm actual match, vesting, payroll, contribution, catch-up, and investment rules in your plan documents.
What Problems Does It Solve?
For “What Problems Does It Solve?,” the 401(k) Calculator organizes the relevant inputs, applies the documented method, and shows a result that can be compared across scenarios. The points below identify the specific considerations and assumptions users should review before relying on the estimate.
- Contribution planning: converts an entered salary percentage into annual employee deposits subject to the entered limit.
- Match estimation: applies an illustrative match rate and salary cap.
- Missed-match visibility: estimates first-year employer dollars not captured under the entered assumptions.
- Limit modeling: applies age-50 and age-60-to-63 catch-up amounts, annual additions, and eligible compensation.
- Cost and purchasing-power review: separates fees, fee drag, and today's-dollar value.
- Goal planning: solves an employee contribution percentage under the same caps and assumptions.
Key Benefits
The calculator treats employee and employer deposits separately, allowing you to see how much of the projected balance comes from your pay, the illustrative match, and net investment growth. The annual schedule shows salary, limits, contributions, fees, and balance for each modeled year.
Editable limits prevent tax-year values from being hidden calculation constants. They also let you test another year, although the calculator does not automatically supply rules for a user-entered future year.
401(k) Terms and Definitions
- Elective deferral
- The employee contribution directed from salary, subject to the entered annual limit.
- Employer match
- An illustrative employer deposit tied to employee contributions and the entered salary-percentage cap.
- Catch-up contribution
- An additional entered deferral limit for eligible ages when the plan permits it.
- Annual additions limit
- The entered overall limit applied to regular employee and employer contributions, excluding catch-up treatment in the engine.
- Compensation limit
- The maximum entered compensation used to calculate contributions.
- Fee drag
- The fee-free projection minus the otherwise identical projection with fees.
- Estimated retirement income
- Ending balance multiplied by the entered withdrawal-rate assumption and divided by 12.
When to Use It
Use the calculator when enrolling, changing a payroll percentage, receiving a raise, comparing fees, approaching a catch-up age, or reviewing a retirement target. Recalculate after changes to salary, plan match, IRS limits, investment expenses, or retirement timing. Review the 401(k) Calculator assumptions before relying on this result for decisions.
Use your summary plan description, account statements, fee disclosures, and current IRS guidance. Actual employer deposits can depend on payroll timing, true-up provisions, vesting, and plan-specific definitions of compensation.
How the Calculation Works
Employee contributions are limited by salary, the entered percentage, compensation cap, and age-based deferral limit. The employer match is then constrained by the match formula and annual additions limit. Monthly deposits enter the account recurrence: Review the 401(k) Calculator assumptions before relying on this result for decisions.
See the complete 401(k) formulas for limit treatment, match calculations, monthly rates, scenarios, inflation, and the goal solver.
Common 401(k) Calculator Mistakes
- Assuming every employer match works the same way.
- Ignoring vesting, payroll timing, or true-up rules.
- Using federal maximums when a plan imposes lower limits.
- Treating return scenarios as forecasts.
- Leaving fees at zero without reviewing plan disclosures.
- Using illustrative withdrawal income as a recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I contribute to a 401(k) in 2026?
The default 2026 employee elective-deferral limit is $24,500. The default catch-up is $8,000 for age 50 or older, with an $11,250 catch-up for ages 60 through 63. The calculator keeps these amounts editable because plan terms and future limits can change.
How does the 401(k) employer match calculator work?
It multiplies eligible employee contributions by the entered match rate, subject to the salary-percentage cap and the entered annual-additions and compensation limits. Actual plans can use different payroll, true-up, and vesting rules. Review the 401(k) Calculator assumptions before relying on this result for decisions.
What rate of return should I use for a 401(k) calculator?
Use a cautious long-term assumption and compare a range. The calculator shows lower, expected, and higher deterministic scenarios; none is a forecast or guarantee. Use realistic inputs and review the 401(k) Calculator assumptions before relying on this result for decisions.
Does this calculator include 401(k) fees and inflation?
Yes. Investment fees are deducted monthly, and the ending balance is also shown in today’s dollars using the entered inflation rate. For a useful 401(k) Calculator result, use realistic inputs, compare relevant scenarios, and review the stated assumptions before making a decision.
Does the 401(k) calculator compare traditional and Roth contributions?
No. It projects account growth without estimating current taxes, future tax rates, or the tax treatment of traditional versus designated Roth contributions. For a useful 401(k) Calculator result, use realistic inputs, compare relevant scenarios, and review the stated assumptions before making a decision.
One Fun Fact About Employer Matching
An employer match can compound alongside employee contributions for decades. Its long-term effect is therefore larger than the sum of the original employer deposits alone.
Conclusion
A useful 401(k) projection begins with actual plan terms and cautious assumptions. Capture the available match, review fees and limits, test several return paths, and update the model when salary or plan rules change.
Use the step-by-step 401(k) Calculator guide to enter consistent assumptions.
401(k) Calculator Disclaimer
Educational estimate only. This calculator does not provide tax, investment, legal, plan-administration, or retirement-income advice. Confirm plan rules with the administrator and current IRS guidance.