401(k) Retirement Calculator
Project the balance of your 401(k) at retirement given your current age, retirement age, salary, contribution percentage, employer match, and expected annual return. Use it to test whether your current saving rate is on track and how much your employer match adds over a full career.
Last updated: May 2026
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About this calculator
The calculator combines two streams of contributions — your own (current salary × contribution %) and your employer's match — and compounds them at the expected annual return over the years remaining until retirement. Employer match is typically expressed as a percentage of your contribution up to some cap (the standard pattern is "100% match up to 6% of salary"), and many employers offer a partial match such as "50% up to 6%". Mathematically, the future value of an annuity formula applies: FV = PMT × ((1+r)^n − 1) / r, where PMT is the annual contribution, r is the annual return, and n is years until retirement. Employer match doubles the effective contribution rate for matched dollars — it is essentially a 50–100% instant return on the matched portion and is one of the highest-return investments available anywhere. The 2024 IRS contribution limit for employees is $23,000 ($30,500 if 50+ with catch-up); the combined employee + employer limit is $69,000 ($76,500 if 50+). Edge cases: setting current age equal to retirement age produces zero years and trivially zero growth (the formula breaks); a 0% expected return collapses the formula to simple addition (FV = PMT × n). The calculator uses nominal returns; for real (inflation-adjusted) planning, subtract about 2.5% from your assumed return rate. Withdrawal at retirement is the second half of the picture: the 4% rule suggests sustainable withdrawals are about 4% of the initial balance annually with inflation adjustments thereafter — so a $1 million balance supports roughly $40,000/year of retirement income before tax.
How to use
Example 1 — Mid-career professional. Age 35 today, planning to retire at 65, current salary $90,000, contributing 8% of salary, employer match 100% up to 6%, expected 7% nominal return. Annual employee contribution = 90000 × 0.08 = $7,200; employer contribution = 90000 × 0.06 = $5,400; total annual = $12,600. Enter 35 for Current Age, 65 for Retirement Age, 90000 for Salary, 8 for Contribution %, 6 for Employer Match (assumed dollar-for-dollar to that cap), and 7 for Annual Return. The $12,600 annual total is contributed monthly ($1,050/month) and compounds at the monthly 7%/12 rate over 30 years (360 months): FV = 1,050 × ((1.005833^360 − 1) / 0.005833) ≈ $1,280,970. ✓ The full employer match adds roughly $549,000 of the total — about 43% of the final balance is "free" from the employer; failing to contribute enough to capture the full match is one of the most expensive mistakes Americans make. Example 2 — Late-career starter. Age 50 today, planning to retire at 67, salary $75,000, contributing 12% with $30,500 catch-up max, employer match 50% up to 6%, expected 6% return. Employee = $9,000; employer = $75,000 × 0.06 × 0.5 = $2,250; total annual $11,250. Contributed monthly ($937.50/month) and compounded at the monthly 6%/12 rate over 17 years (204 months): FV = 937.50 × ((1.005^204 − 1) / 0.005) ≈ $331,150. ✓ A late start with a disciplined 12% contribution and partial match still produces a meaningful nest egg; combined with Social Security and any existing savings, this can support a modest retirement income, but tighter spending plans and possibly a later retirement age would help.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I contribute to my 401(k)?
At minimum, contribute enough to capture the full employer match — that's a guaranteed 50–100% return on those dollars and is the single most important rule. Beyond that, conventional wisdom suggests saving 10–15% of gross income for retirement (across all retirement accounts combined: 401(k), IRA, HSA, taxable brokerage). The IRS allows up to $23,000 in employee 401(k) contributions in 2024 ($30,500 for those 50+ with catch-up). For high earners, contributing the maximum to a 401(k), maxing a Roth or Backdoor Roth IRA, and using an HSA as a stealth retirement account adds up to roughly $35,000–$45,000/year of tax-advantaged retirement savings capacity. The right rate depends on your starting age and target retirement age: someone starting at 25 can hit a comfortable retirement on 10–12%; someone starting at 45 may need 20–25% to catch up. Whatever you choose, increase it by 1 percentage point each January until you hit your target.
Should I contribute to a Traditional or Roth 401(k)?
Roth contributions are made with after-tax dollars and grow tax-free, with no tax on qualified withdrawals in retirement. Traditional contributions are pre-tax (lower your taxable income today) but withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. The right choice depends on your expected tax rate now vs. in retirement: if you're currently in a low bracket (10–12%) and expect to be in the same or higher bracket later, Roth wins; if you're in a high bracket (24%+) and expect lower income in retirement, Traditional often wins. For most people in the middle (22% bracket), splitting contributions between the two is a reasonable hedge. The Roth also has no required minimum distributions during the original owner's lifetime (unlike Traditional), provides estate-planning flexibility, and protects against future tax-rate increases that the US likely faces given fiscal trends. Many planners now lean Roth for younger savers and split for older ones.
What is vesting and why does it matter?
Vesting determines when employer-contributed funds become legally yours. Employee contributions are always 100% vested immediately — those dollars are yours from day one. Employer match contributions, however, may follow a vesting schedule: "cliff vesting" (0% vested for the first N years, then 100% vested all at once at year N) or "graded vesting" (some percentage each year for N years until 100%). Common schedules are 3-year cliff or 6-year graded (20% vested per year starting in year 2). If you leave the company before fully vesting, you forfeit the unvested portion of employer contributions. This matters for job-change decisions: jumping ship just before a vesting milestone can cost tens of thousands in forfeited employer match. Always check your plan's vesting schedule and factor unvested match into the financial calculus of any potential job change. Some employers (notably tech) now use immediate vesting as a recruiting tool.
What are the most common mistakes people make with 401(k) planning?
The biggest is not contributing enough to capture the full employer match — Vanguard estimates roughly a third of eligible 401(k) participants leave some match money on the table every year. The second is starting too late; the difference between starting at 25 and starting at 35 with the same contribution rate is typically a doubling of the final balance because of compounding. The third is choosing aggressive funds for short-horizon money or conservative funds for long-horizon money; age-appropriate target-date funds solve this for most people. The fourth is cashing out the 401(k) when changing jobs, triggering a 10% early-withdrawal penalty plus ordinary income tax — always roll it over to a new employer's plan or to an IRA instead. The fifth is paying high investment fees (1%+ expense ratios) when low-cost index alternatives exist at 0.1% or less; over 30 years, a 1% fee difference can shrink the final balance by 20–30%. Finally, people often forget to rebalance and gradually shift toward more conservative allocations as retirement approaches.
When should I not use this calculator?
Skip it for detailed retirement income planning — for that you need a model that handles drawdown, Social Security timing, Medicare costs, RMDs, tax brackets across account types (traditional 401(k), Roth, taxable, HSA), and Monte Carlo simulation under variable market returns. It is the wrong tool if your contributions vary significantly year to year, if you have a defined-benefit pension that adds non-portfolio income, or if you expect a major windfall (RSU vest, business sale, inheritance) that changes the trajectory. Do not rely on a single-point estimate for major life decisions — run multiple scenarios (4%, 7%, 10% returns) to understand the range of outcomes. For non-US retirement systems with different tax structures, contribution limits, and matching norms, the underlying math is universal but the practical figures differ. And do not use this calculator as your only retirement check — pair with Social Security projection from ssa.gov and a separate IRA/Roth IRA model for a complete picture.