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InvestmentretirementUnited States only

401(k) Calculator

A 401(k) projected to retirement with the employer match modelled properly. Contributing below the match threshold declines free money, which no investment return can make up for.

Also called: 401k growth calculator, retirement savings projection.

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Balance at retirement
$1,345,548.97

$1,345,548.97 after 25 years. Of that, $346,363.01 is yours, $103,908.90 came from the match and $850,277.06 is growth. You are contributing enough to earn the full employer match.

Your contributions
$346,363.01
Employer match
$103,908.90
Investment growth
$850,277.06
First year contribution
$9,500.00
First year match
$2,850.00
Match left unclaimed each year
$0.00
On the match
You are contributing enough to earn the full employer match.
On the limit
Contribution limits are indexed annually. Check the current year limit rather than relying on the default here.
How this is calculated

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Your contribution and the employer match both go in and compound together. The match is capped: a fifty percent match up to six percent of salary means contributing six percent earns three percent from the employer, and contributing four percent earns only two. That shortfall is shown explicitly because it is an immediate fifty percent return on the money you did not contribute, which nothing else offers. Contributions are capped at the annual limit, which is indexed and separate from the match.

contributions and match compound together; the match is the highest guaranteed return available
c
Your contribution
m
Employer match

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

ten percent with a fifty percent match

Current balance
$45,000.00
Annual salary
$95,000.00
You contribute
10%
Employer matches
50%
Match applies up to
6%
Years to retirement
25
Annual return
7%
Annual salary growth
3%
Annual contribution limit
$23,500.00

Balance at retirement$1,345,548.97

6% of 95,000 matched at 50%

Open this example

contributing below the match leaves money

Current balance
$45,000.00
Annual salary
$95,000.00
You contribute
3%
Employer matches
50%
Match applies up to
6%
Years to retirement
25
Annual return
7%
Annual salary growth
3%
Annual contribution limit
$23,500.00

Balance at retirement$625,458.72

boundary: half the available match

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • A constant return, which no real market provides. Sequence of returns matters near retirement.
  • Salary grows at a constant rate and contributions rise with it.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Vesting schedules mean employer contributions may not be yours immediately.
  • Traditional and Roth contributions have different tax treatment, not distinguished here.
  • This is a mechanical projection, not advice about how much to save.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Should I contribute at least up to the match?
The match is an immediate return of whatever the match rate is, guaranteed and risk free. Contributing below it leaves that on the table every year.
What return should I assume?
Long-run equity returns have averaged around seven percent real, but any single twenty-five year period can differ substantially. Treat the output as one scenario.