401(k) balance at retirement from your pay, contribution, employer match and return
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 29 Sept 2026.A 30-year-old earning $60,000 who saves 6% with a match of 100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2%, 3% raises and a 6% return, reaches about $1,077,821 by 65, or $454,163 in today's dollars at 2.5% inflation. The 2026 contribution limit is $24,500.
2026 · Rates and rules read from IRS Notice 2025-67 (2026 retirement plan limits) on 29 Sept 2026; they may have changed since.
Enter your age, the age you plan to retire, your salary and your current 401(k) balance.
Enter the percent of pay you contribute and your employer’s match formula.
Set the yearly raise, the return you expect and inflation.
Read the balance at retirement, in future and in today’s dollars.
Open "Year by year" to see the contributions, the match and the growth each year.
This calculator projects a 401(k) balance year by year until the age you retire, from your salary, the percent you contribute, your employer's match, pay raises and an assumed return. The IRS limits are applied every year, so a high earner's contributions stop where the law stops them.
Your contributions and the limits. For 2026 you can defer up to $24,500 of pay (IRS Notice 2025-67). From the year you turn 50 you can add an $8,000 catch-up, and in the years you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 the catch-up is $11,250 instead. Your deferrals and the employer's money together cannot pass $72,000, catch-ups aside, and the match is figured on pay up to $360,000. Future years keep the 2026 figures; the IRS raises them with inflation, so the projection is a little cautious for high savers.
The employer match. Plans write their own formula, so it is an input with two tiers: a percent of what you defer on the first slice of pay, and a second percent on the next slice. The common safe-harbor formula, 100% of the first 3% plus 50% of the next 2%, is the example. The page shows the percent of pay that earns the whole match and how much you miss below it. Whether catch-ups are matched depends on the plan; here they are.
Growth. Each year's money goes in as 12 monthly amounts and the balance grows at the return you enter, compounded monthly so a full year equals that return. The result is shown in future dollars and in today's dollars at your inflation rate. A 4% first-year withdrawal is shown as a rough guide to income.
What it does not do. It ignores vesting (see the 401(k) Vesting Calculator), fees, loans, market swings and taxes on withdrawal. Pre-tax and Roth contributions grow the same here; for 2026, catch-ups of anyone paid more than $150,000 of wages in 2025 must be Roth (Notice 2025-67). It is a projection, not a promise.
Employees can defer up to $24,500 of pay into a 401(k) in 2026, under IRS Notice 2025-67. Savers aged 50 or over add an $8,000 catch-up, raised to $11,250 in the years they turn 60 to 63. Employee and employer money together cannot exceed $72,000, with catch-ups on top of that.
The answer depends mostly on years of saving and the return. Saving 6% of $60,000 with a 4% employer match, 3% raises and a 6% return, a 30-year-old with $10,000 already saved reaches about $1,077,821 at 65. At 2.5% inflation that buys what about $454,163 buys today.
Contributing at least the percent the match formula covers collects the whole match. With 100% of the first 3% of pay plus 50% of the next 2%, that is 5%: on $60,000, contributing 3% earns $1,800 from the employer and 5% earns $2,400. The calculator shows the full-match percent and any money left behind.
SECURE 2.0 raised the catch-up for savers who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year. For 2026 it is $11,250 instead of the usual $8,000 for those aged 50 or over, so the most such a saver can defer is $35,750. From the year they turn 64, the regular $8,000 catch-up applies again.
No return is guaranteed, and the right figure depends on the funds you hold and their fees. The calculator treats the return as the same every year, while real markets rise and fall. Run it at 4%, 6% and 8% to see a cautious, a middle and a hopeful result instead of trusting a single number.
No. The balance is before tax: traditional 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as income, Roth withdrawals are not if the rules are met. Employer money may also need years of service before it is fully yours. Use the 401(k) Vesting Calculator to see how much of the match you keep if you leave early.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about 401(k) Calculator and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
Also works as: 401(k) Retirement Calculator.
Open it set for: 401(k) Match Calculator.
Same job, other tools: S Corp Solo 401(k) Calculator – Solo 401(k) maximum for an S corporation owner paid a W-2 salary: 25% of pay plus deferral · Roth Conversion Break-Even Calculator – How many years a Roth conversion needs to pay back the tax you pay on it today · Rule of 50 Calculator for Public Safety – Penalty-free plan withdrawals for police, firefighters and public safety workers at 50 · Medicare Part B Premium Calculator – What you pay each month for Medicare Part B in 2026, standard or with the income surcharge.
On the related tools: Vesting Schedule Calculator – Check a 401(k) vesting schedule against the legal 3-year cliff and 6-year graded minimums.
More for US: all 41 US calculators.