401(k) Calculator with Employer Match

How to use this calculator

This 401(k) calculator with employer match projects your balance at retirement and shows how much of it comes from you, your employer and investment growth.

• Age and retirement age: the calculator runs one year at a time between them.
• Salary and raises: your current gross pay and the average yearly raise you expect.
• Contribution %: the share of pay you defer. You'll find it in your plan's website or on your pay stub.
• Employer match: two numbers. The match rate (such as 50%) and the cap (such as "up to 6% of pay"). Your plan's summary plan description lists both.
• Current balance, return and inflation: inflation turns the final balance into today's dollars.
• Paychecks per year: 26 for biweekly, 24 for twice a month, 52 for weekly.

Unlike many 401(k) calculators, ours caps your contributions at the IRS limit for your age every year. That includes the 50+ catch-up and the larger catch-up at ages 60 to 63. You'll also see your per-paycheck amount, a warning if you're missing match money, and a year-by-year table.

How we calculate your 401(k) balance

Each year, we take your contribution percentage of salary, cap it at the IRS limit, and add your employer match. Contributions go in monthly and grow at your chosen return. Then your salary rises by your raise rate.

your contribution = min(salary × contribution %, IRS limit for your age)
employer match   = min(your contribution, salary × match cap %) × match rate
balance          = grows monthly at (1 + return)^(1/12), plus 1/12 of the year's contributions

Worked example: You're 30, earn $70,000 and get 3% raises. You contribute 6%, and your employer matches 50% up to 6% of pay. You have $20,000 saved and assume a 7% return and 2.5% inflation. You're paid biweekly.

• Year one: you put in $4,200 (about $161.54 per paycheck). Your employer adds $2,100.
• At 65, your projected balance is about $1.49 million, or about $628,000 in today's dollars.
• That breaks down as about $253,900 from you, $127,000 from your employer, and $1.09 million from growth.

Now drop your contribution to 3%. Your employer only matches 1.5% of pay, so you leave $1,050 of free money behind in year one. The projected balance at 65 falls to about $852,000.

401(k) contribution limits for 2026 and 2027

The 2026 401(k) limit for employee deferrals is $24,500. Catch-up contributions let older workers save more:

Your age in 2026	Employee limit	With catch-up
Under 50	$24,500	—
50–59 or 64+	$24,500	$32,500
60–63	$24,500	$35,750

The total limit for your money plus employer contributions is $72,000 (higher with catch-ups). The same limits apply to 403(b) plans and most 457(b) plans.

The 2027 401(k) contribution limit hasn't been set yet. The IRS usually announces it in November. It's projected at about $25,500. The calculator assumes limits rise about 2.5% a year in future years, rounded down to $500 steps the way the IRS does.

How employer matches work

A match is money your employer adds when you contribute. The formula matters:

• 50% up to 6% of pay: contribute 6% and you get 3% of pay. On $70,000, that's $2,100 a year.
• 100% up to 4% of pay: contribute 4% and you get 4%. On $70,000, that's $2,800.
• Dollar-for-dollar up to 3%, then 50% on the next 2%: contribute 5% and you get 4%.

Some employers add a non-elective contribution, such as 3% of pay whether or not you contribute. The calculator handles the standard "match rate up to a cap" formula. You can approximate other formulas by picking the match rate and cap that give the same dollar amount.

Why you shouldn't leave the match on the table

Contributing less than your match cap means turning down part of your pay. In the example above, a 50% match is an instant 50% return on the matched dollars. Few investments come close.

If money is tight, contributing at least enough to get the full match is often a sensible first step. Then raise your rate by 1% each year or with each raise. The calculator's missed-match warning shows how much you're giving up.

Watch for two catches:

• Vesting. Your own contributions are always yours. Employer money may vest over several years. Leave early and you could lose some of it.
• Front-loading. If you hit the IRS limit early in the year, some plans stop matching for the rest of it. Ask whether your plan offers a "true-up."

How much will my 401(k) be worth?

Time does most of the work. In the worked example, growth makes up about 73% of the final balance. Your own contributions are only about 17%.

That's why starting early matters more than starting big. A few ways to read your results:

• Look at today's dollars. $1.49 million in 35 years buys about what $628,000 buys now at 2.5% inflation.
• Turn the balance into income. At a 4% withdrawal rate, $1.49 million supports about $4,970 a month in the first year of retirement.
• Test a lower return. Try 5% or 6% to see a more cautious case. Fees also cut your real return, so check your fund expense ratios.
• Check the table for capped years. If you contribute a high percentage on a high salary, the IRS limit may stop you before your percentage does. Catch-up years show a higher limit.

Roth vs traditional 401(k)

Both have the same contribution limits. The difference is when you pay tax:

	Traditional 401(k)	Roth 401(k)
Contributions	Before income tax	After income tax
Your paycheck now	Bigger, because tax drops	Smaller
Qualified withdrawals	Taxed as income	Tax-free

Traditional often makes sense if you expect a lower tax rate in retirement. Roth often makes sense if you expect a higher one, or you're early in your career. Many plans let you split contributions between both.

To see how a pre-tax contribution changes your take-home, try the paycheck calculator. To check whether your 401(k) plus other savings will cover retirement, use the retirement calculator.