401k Calculator
Project your retirement savings with employer match
401k Calculator: Project Your Retirement Savings With Employer Match
Our free 401k calculator projects what your account could be worth when you retire. Enter your age, current balance, salary and contribution, then add your employer match, yearly raises and an expected return. You get your projected balance, how much comes from you, your employer and investment growth, the value in today's dollars and a rough monthly income. A second tab works backward and shows what to contribute to reach a retirement goal.
Quick answer: a 30-year-old earning $75,000 with $25,000 saved, contributing 6% and getting a 50% match up to 6%, with 3% raises and a 7% return, could reach about $1,635,798 by age 65. That is roughly $689,278 in today's dollars. To reach $1,000,000 instead, about 3.2% of salary is enough.
What Is a 401k?
A 401k is a retirement account offered through an employer. You choose a share of your pay to contribute, the money is invested, and many employers add a match. Traditional contributions come out of your pay before income tax, and Roth contributions are made after tax. Because contributions come straight from your paycheck and the balance compounds for decades, a 401k is one of the most effective ways to build retirement savings. To see how growth builds over time, try the compound interest calculator.
How the Projection Works
Each year the calculator raises your salary by the increase you enter, works out your contribution, adds your employer's match, and spreads the total across 12 monthly deposits that grow at your expected return. The same steps repeat until your retirement age.
The table shows how different contribution levels change the result for the default example.
| Your contribution | First-year amount | Employer match (35 years) | Balance at 65 | In today's dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | $2,250 | $68,020 | $951,356 | $400,874 |
| 6% | $4,500 | $136,040 | $1,635,798 | $689,278 |
| 10% | $7,500 | $136,040 | $2,244,190 | $945,637 |
| 15% | $11,250 | $136,040 | $3,004,681 | $1,266,086 |
Understanding the Employer Match
A match is part of your pay, so missing it costs real money. With a 50% match up to 6% of salary, contributing 6% of $75,000 earns $2,250 from your employer in the first year. Contributing only 3% would earn half of that. The calculator tells you when you are leaving match unclaimed. Without any match, the default balance at 65 falls from $1,635,798 to $1,179,503.
2026 Contribution Limits
For 2026 the IRS limit on your own contributions is $24,500. Workers aged 50 and over can add $8,000 as a catch-up, and workers aged 60 to 63 can add $11,250 instead. The limit on combined contributions from you and your employer is $72,000. The calculator applies these limits by default and assumes they stay at the 2026 level, which is cautious because limits usually rise over time. You can switch the limit off. For a wider plan that includes other income, try the retirement calculator, and for other holdings use the investment calculator.
Turning a Balance Into Income
A balance is easier to judge when you turn it into income. The results show a monthly figure using the 4% rule, a common guideline that you can withdraw about 4% in the first year of retirement and adjust for inflation afterward. For the default example that is about $5,453 a month. Social Security, pensions and other savings would come on top, and the savings calculator can help with shorter goals along the way.
Who Uses a 401k Calculator?
Workers choosing how much to contribute, people comparing employer plans, new hires deciding whether to take the full match, savers catching up in their fifties, and anyone checking whether they are on track. Results are estimates that assume steady returns and contributions, and they are not financial advice.
How to Use This 401k Calculator
Choose a tab
Use Project Balance to see your future balance, or Contribution Needed to find what to save for a goal.
Enter your ages and balance
Add your current age, retirement age and the amount already in your 401k.
Enter your salary and contribution
Choose a percentage of salary or a dollar amount per year.
Add your employer match
Enter the match rate and the share of salary it applies to. Use 0 if there is no match.
Set raises, return and inflation
Adjust the yearly raise, expected return and inflation to test different scenarios.
Click the button
See your balance, contributions, match, growth and monthly income.