How to use 401(k) Calculator
This 401(k) calculator projects how large your retirement account could grow by the time you retire, factoring in your contributions, your employer match and investment growth. Enter your salary, contribution rate, the employer match and your expected return to see a year-by-year projection of your balance, along with how much came from your own savings, free employer money and compound growth.
- Enter your annual salary and the percentage you contribute.
- Add your employer match rate and the salary cap it applies to.
- Enter your current 401(k) balance and years until retirement.
- Set an expected average annual return.
- Review the projected balance and the year-by-year breakdown.
Your data never leaves your device — 100% private processing.
How employer matching multiplies your savings
Many employers match a percentage of your contributions up to a salary cap — a common formula is 50% of the first 6% you contribute. That match is effectively an instant, guaranteed return on your money, which is why advisers urge you to contribute at least enough to capture it in full. This calculator applies the match only up to the cap, so you can see exactly how much free money you collect each year and how it compounds alongside your own contributions.
| Salary | You (6%) | Employer (50%) |
|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $3,600 | $1,800 |
| $80,000 | $4,800 | $2,400 |
| $100,000 | $6,000 | $3,000 |
Why compound growth dominates over time
In the early years most of your balance comes from contributions, but over decades investment growth becomes the largest component as returns earn their own returns. A 401(k) compounds tax-deferred, so nothing is lost to annual taxes along the way, accelerating the snowball. Small increases in contribution rate or starting a few years earlier can add hundreds of thousands to the final balance — the projection makes that long-run effect easy to see.
Worked examples
Steady saver
Inputs: $80k · 6% · 50% match · 30 yr · 7%
Result: Balance grows past $800k
No match
Inputs: same but 0% match
Result: Employer total $0
Glossary
- 401(k)
- An employer-sponsored retirement plan with tax-deferred growth.
- Employer match
- Money your employer contributes based on your own contributions.
- Vesting
- The schedule by which employer contributions become fully yours.
- Contribution rate
- The percentage of salary you put into the plan each year.
- Tax-deferred
- Growth that is not taxed until you withdraw the money in retirement.
Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use 401(k) Calculator?
- Shows exactly how much free employer match money you collect annually and over the full term
- Year-by-year projection separates contributions, employer match and investment growth as distinct lines
- Reveals the dollar cost of contributing below the threshold that captures the full employer match
- Demonstrates how a small increase in contribution rate compounds to hundreds of thousands over decades
Common use cases
- Find the contribution rate that captures your employer's full match without reducing take-home pay too far
- Model the balance at 65 if you increase contributions by 2% each time you receive a raise
- Compare a traditional pre-tax 401(k) against a Roth 401(k) at the same contribution rate
- See how the projected balance changes if you lower the expected return from 7% to 5%
- Estimate how much more the balance grows if you keep contributing for five extra working years
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