401(k) Calculator
Enter your salary, contribution rate, employer match, and expected return to project your 401(k) balance at retirement, year by year.
Final balance
$727,725.90
Your contributions
$144,000.00
Employer match
$72,000.00
Investment growth
$511,725.90
What builds your balance
| Category | Contributions, employer match and growth |
|---|---|
| Contributions | $144,000.00 |
| Employer match | $72,000.00 |
| Growth | $511,726.00 |
Estimates only. Returns are not guaranteed and contribution limits apply.
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
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Why use 401(k) Calculator?
- Transparent formulas so you understand every calculation
- Supports multiple currencies and regional tax rules
- Saves you from spreadsheet errors with validated inputs
- Shareable results for discussions with advisors or partners
Common use cases
- Calculate how long to pay off a credit card balance
- Model different mortgage scenarios before house hunting
- Forecast investment growth with compound interest
- Break even analysis for a new product or service
- Compare net salary after tax across different countries
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