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CalcMyWay

401(k) Calculator

Your details

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$
% of salary
Employer match
% of your contribution
% of salary
Advanced options
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%

Result

Balance at retirement

$1,984,818
Your contributions
$393,771
Employer match
$118,131
Investment growth
$1,422,916
Years of contributions
32
First-year contribution total
$9,750
  • You are contributing enough to claim the full employer match — $118,131 over 32 years.
Contributions versus investment growth

Year-by-year projection

Salary, contributions and balance for every year until retirement.

AgeSalaryYouEmployerBalance
36$75,000$7,500$2,250$63,591
37$77,250$7,725$2,318$78,437
38$79,568$7,957$2,387$94,633
39$81,955$8,195$2,459$112,284
40$84,413$8,441$2,532$131,502
41$86,946$8,695$2,608$152,406
42$89,554$8,955$2,687$175,124
43$92,241$9,224$2,767$199,793
44$95,008$9,501$2,850$226,562
45$97,858$9,786$2,936$255,588

How is a 401(k) balance at retirement calculated?

A 401(k) balance at retirement is calculated by compounding each year's contributions and employer match on top of the existing balance at the expected rate of return. Each year the balance grows by the return rate, then that year's employee and employer contributions are added, and the cycle repeats until retirement age.

B⁺ = B(1 + r) + (E + M)(1 + r/2) M = min(C, L) × m
B
Balance at the start of the year
r
Expected annual rate of return
E
Your contribution for the year
M
Employer match for the year
C
Your contribution rate, as a share of salary
L
The employer's match limit, as a share of salary
m
The employer's match rate per dollar you contribute

The projection runs year by year rather than through a single closed-form expression, because three things change annually: salary grows, so contributions grow with it; the IRS elective deferral limit caps the employee contribution; and catch-up contributions raise that cap at age 50 and again at 60. The match formula is the part most people get wrong. An employer offering "50% of the first 6%" does not match half of everything you contribute — it matches half of the portion up to 6% of salary and nothing above it. That is why contributing 10% and contributing 6% produce the same employer contribution in this example, and why the calculator flags a contribution rate below the match cap as unclaimed money. Contributions are credited with half a year's return in the year they are made, since they arrive across the year rather than on day one.

  1. Multiply your salary by your contribution percentage to get your annual deferral.
  2. Cap that at the IRS elective deferral limit, plus catch-up if you are 50 or older.
  3. Apply the employer match to the lesser of your rate and the match cap.
  4. Grow the existing balance by your expected annual return.
  5. Add this year's contributions, credited with half a year of return.
  6. Increase salary by your expected raise and repeat until retirement age.

Worked example: Age 35, retiring at 67, $75,000 salary, contributing 10%, employer matches 50% of the first 6%

Age 35, retiring at 67, $75,000 salary, contributing 10%, employer matches 50% of the first 6%

In year one you contribute 10% of $75,000, which is $7,500. The employer matches 50% of the first 6% — 6% of $75,000 is $4,500, and half of that is $2,250. So $9,750 goes in during the first year, against a starting balance of $50,000. The balance grows by 7%, and the new contributions earn roughly half a year's return, ending year one near $63,800. Salary then rises 3% to $77,250 and the cycle repeats for 32 years. By 67 the balance reaches roughly $1,984,800. Of that, about $394,000 is your own contributions and $118,000 is employer match, leaving roughly $1,423,000 as investment growth — which is the point of the exercise. Note that raising the contribution from 10% to 12% adds nothing to the employer column, because the match was already capped at 6%.

What each 401(k) input means

Current age
Your age today. Catch-up contributions become available at 50 and increase at 60.
Retirement age
When you plan to stop contributing. 67 is full Social Security retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later.
Annual salary
Gross annual pay before tax and deductions — the figure your contribution percentage applies to.
Current 401(k) balance
What the account is worth today, including any previous employer's plan you rolled in.
Your contribution
The percentage of each paycheck you defer. Your payroll system shows this; it is capped by the IRS limit below.
Employer match
What your employer adds per dollar you contribute. A "50% match" adds 50 cents per dollar; a "dollar-for-dollar match" is 100%.
Match limit
The contribution level above which your employer stops matching. "50% of the first 6%" means 6% goes here.
Expected annual return
Long-run average return on the funds you hold, net of fees. Enter the rate after the expense ratio, not before.
Annual salary growth
Average yearly raise. Contributions are a percentage of salary, so they grow with it.
Cap contributions at the 2026 IRS limit
The elective deferral limit is $24,500 for 2026, plus catch-up contributions from age 50.

What this 401(k) does not account for

  • Vesting is not modelled. Employer contributions often vest over three to six years, and leaving before you are fully vested means forfeiting part of the match column shown here.
  • Returns are assumed constant. A real sequence of returns averaging 7% produces a different result from a steady 7%, and a bad run close to retirement hurts far more than the same run early on.
  • Tax is not applied. Traditional 401(k) contributions are pre-tax and withdrawals are taxed as income; Roth 401(k) contributions are the reverse. The balance shown is the account value, not what you keep after tax.
  • Required minimum distributions begin at 73 under SECURE 2.0 and are not projected here, because the calculation stops at retirement age.
  • The IRS limit is applied at this year's figure for every future year. In reality it is indexed to inflation and rises most years, so a long projection with the cap active is conservative.
  • Loans, hardship withdrawals and after-tax contributions above the deferral limit are not modelled.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I contribute to my 401(k)?

At minimum, enough to claim the full employer match — below that you are declining part of your salary. Beyond the match, a common target is 15% of gross pay including the match, though the right figure depends on your retirement age and existing savings.

What is the 401(k) contribution limit for 2026?

The elective deferral limit is $24,500 for 2026. From age 50 you can add a catch-up contribution of $8,000, and ages 60 to 63 can add $11,250 instead under SECURE 2.0.

Does the employer match count toward the 401(k) limit?

No. The elective deferral limit applies only to your own contributions. Employer match sits under a separate, much higher combined limit on total additions to the account, so a match never reduces how much you can defer.

What does a 50% match up to 6% mean?

Your employer adds 50 cents for every dollar you contribute, but only on the first 6% of your salary. On $75,000 that is a maximum match of $2,250 a year, reached by contributing 6%. Contributing more earns no extra match.

What is a realistic rate of return for a 401(k)?

Long-run US equity returns have averaged roughly 7% a year after inflation, but a 401(k) holding bonds or target-date funds nearer retirement returns less. Enter the rate net of fund expense ratios, which typically take 0.1% to 1%.

Can I contribute to both a 401(k) and an IRA?

Yes. The limits are separate, so you can max both in the same year. Whether the IRA contribution is tax-deductible depends on your income and whether you are covered by a workplace plan.

Sources and review

Last reviewed .