401(k) calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement. Your contribution, employer match, salary growth, and compounding return — with 2026 IRS limits enforced.
What will your 401(k) be worth?
Breakdown
Retirement income estimate
401(k) projection math, plain English.
A 401(k) projection compounds three flows year by year:
- Your contribution — your % × salary, capped at the IRS dollar limit. For 2026 that's $24,500 if you're under 50, $32,500 if 50–59 or 64+, and $36,500 at ages 60–63 under SECURE 2.0 §414(v)(7).
- Employer match — most plans match a fraction of your contribution up to a cap. "50% match on the first 6%" means your employer adds 50¢ for every $1 you put in, until you've put in 6% of salary. Free money.
- Investment growth — the balance plus this year's contributions earns the expected return. Compounding does the heavy lifting in the last 10 years before retirement.
Salary grows each year by the salary-growth %, which raises both your contribution dollars and the match dollars in lockstep. The calculator assumes contributions are made evenly through the year, so half the year's contribution earns return that same year.
The 4% safe withdrawal rule (Bengen 1994 / Trinity Study) suggests withdrawing 4% of the starting balance each year, adjusted for inflation, has historically lasted 30+ years across most US market periods. It's a planning rule of thumb, not a guarantee.
The fine print.
- Pre-tax dollars — projections are in nominal pre-tax dollars. Apply your retirement marginal rate (often lower than working-years rate) when you withdraw.
- No inflation adjustment — both the return and salary-growth inputs are nominal. To see "today's-dollar" projections, use a real return (e.g. 5% instead of 7%) and a real salary growth (e.g. 1% instead of 3%).
- Match assumes you contribute up to the cap — if you contribute less than the match cap %, the calculator uses your % (you only get matched on what you put in).
- IRS catch-up auto-applies — at age 50, the calculator raises your contribution cap by $8,000. At 60–63, $12,000 (SECURE 2.0 enhanced). At 64+, back to $8,000.
- Self-employed? Use our Solo 401(k) calculator instead — different limits and employer-side math.
Real-world 401(k) returns vary widely year to year. The S&P 500's long-run nominal return is ~10%, real return ~7%. Most retirement planners use 6–7% real for conservative projections. Always pressure-test by running with a 5% return too.