401(k) Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement with 2026 IRS limits, catch-up contributions, employer match, fees and inflation, then see the monthly income it can pay.
Age you reach this year
$7,000 a year at today's salary
Per year, before fees
Federal + state marginal
Average rate on withdrawals
This year you contribute $7,000. With Traditional that lowers this year's tax by about $1,540 at 22%, but withdrawals are taxed later. With Roth you pay that tax now and withdraw your money tax-free. Because you expect a lower tax rate in retirement, Traditional likely leaves you with more after-tax income.
| Scenario | You put in | Balance | Today's $ | Income /mo* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your plan (10%) | $463,220 | $2,209,104 | $885,999 | $2,953 |
| +1% (11%) | $509,542 | $2,359,268 | $946,225 | $3,154 |
| +3% (13%) | $602,185 | $2,659,597 | $1,066,677 | $3,556 |
| Max out (IRS limit) | $1,751,500 | $6,084,008 | $2,440,095 | $8,134 |
*4% withdrawal, today's dollars, before tax. Contributions are capped at the IRS limit in every scenario.
Paying 1% instead of 0.1% a year costs you about $441,520 over 37 years (18% of the balance). Low-cost index or target-date funds keep more of the growth for you.
- →Always contribute at least enough to get the full employer match; it is an instant 50–100% return.
- →Raise your contribution by 1% each time you get a raise. You will barely notice it in your paycheck.
- →Check your plan's vesting schedule: matched money may only become yours after 2 to 6 years of service.
- →Turning 60 to 63 soon? Plan for the higher SECURE 2.0 catch-up, which is only available in those four years.
- →Withdrawals before 59½ usually cost a 10% penalty plus income tax, so treat the 401(k) as long-term money.
This tool is for informational purposes only. Always verify results with a qualified professional.
What is the 401(k) Calculator?
This 401(k) calculator projects how much your workplace retirement account could be worth by the time you retire, and what that balance means as a monthly paycheck. Enter your age, retirement age, current balance, salary, contribution rate, raises, your employer's match formula, the return you expect, fund fees and inflation. It returns your balance at retirement in future dollars and in today's dollars, splits the money into what you put in, what your employer added and what investment growth earned, and shows a full year-by-year table. It also estimates the income the balance could support using the 4% withdrawal rule.
Unlike most 401(k) calculators, this one applies the real IRS contribution limits for every year of your projection. For 2026 the employee deferral limit is $24,500. If you are 50 or older by December 31, you can add a catch-up contribution of $8,000 (total $32,500). Under SECURE 2.0, anyone who turns 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year gets a higher catch-up of $11,250 instead (total $35,750), which drops back to the regular catch-up at 64. If your chosen percentage would push you over the limit, the calculator caps the contribution and tells you the age at which you first hit the ceiling. By default the limits rise with inflation in $500 steps, as the IRS indexes them, and every limit is editable so you can switch to the 2027 figures once the IRS publishes them in November.
Worked example: a 30-year-old earning $70,000 with $25,000 already saved contributes 10% of pay, gets 3% raises and an employer match of 50% up to 6%, and expects a 7% return with 0.5% in fund fees and 2.5% inflation. Retiring at 67, after 37 years of contributions, the projection is about $2,209,104, or roughly $885,999 in today's dollars. Of that, $463,220 came from the employee, $138,966 from the employer and about $1,581,918 from investment growth. At a 4% withdrawal rate the account could pay about $7,364 a month in future dollars, which is about $2,953 a month in today's money. Cutting fees from 1% to 0.1% would add roughly $441,500 to the final balance.
The employer match is the easiest return you will ever earn. With a 50% match up to 6%, every dollar you put in on the first 6% of pay gets an instant 50% return before any market growth. The calculator checks whether you contribute enough to collect the whole match and, if not, shows how much free money you are leaving behind this year and what it would have grown to by retirement. The scenario table compares your current rate with +1%, +3%, the full-match rate and maxing out, so you can see what a small change today is worth decades from now.
Traditional or Roth? Traditional 401(k) contributions cut your taxable income now and are taxed when you withdraw them, while Roth contributions are made after tax and come out tax-free in retirement. Employer matching money normally goes into the pre-tax side either way. Choose a toggle, enter your current and expected retirement tax rates, and the calculator shows the tax you save today with Traditional and the after-tax income you can expect later. If you expect a lower tax rate in retirement, Traditional usually wins; if you expect a similar or higher rate, Roth often does. Starting in 2026, workers whose prior-year wages from the employer were above $150,000 must make any catch-up contributions as Roth.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1Enter your current age, the age you plan to retire, and your current 401(k) balance.
- 2Enter your annual salary before tax, the percentage you contribute, and the raise you expect each year.
- 3Pick your employer's match formula (for example 50% up to 6%) or choose Custom and type the match rate and the salary cap.
- 4Set the expected annual return, fund fees (expense ratio) and inflation, and choose Traditional or Roth with your current and retirement tax rates.
- 5Read your balance at retirement, the you / employer / growth split, the 4% income estimate and the verdict, then check the full-match alert.
- 6Compare the scenario and fee tables, open the year-by-year table, and use Copy share link to save or send your result.