401(k) & Retirement Growth Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement, including the employer match — and see immediately if you're leaving any of that free money unclaimed.
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EstimateThis calculator provides estimates for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Results are based on the assumptions and information entered and may differ materially from actual outcomes. Tax rules and financial regulations can change. Consult an appropriately qualified professional for advice specific to your situation.
This models one flat expected return for the whole career, which real markets never actually deliver in a straight line. Treat the ending balance as a rough planning estimate, not a prediction.
- Calculates your specific employer match formula, not a generic assumption.
- Flags directly if you're contributing below the level needed to capture the full match.
- Shows both the nominal projected balance and its value in today's purchasing power.
- Models rising contributions from raises and the drag from fees, both compounding over a career.
How to use this calculator
Enter your current age, planned retirement age, current 401(k) balance, and salary. Then enter your own plan's match formula: what percent of salary you contribute, what percent the employer matches per dollar, and the salary percentage cap on that match — your plan documents or HR department can confirm the exact numbers for your specific employer.
Under Advanced, model salary growth from raises, the fund's expense ratio (fees), and an inflation rate used only to show the projected balance in today's purchasing power alongside the nominal figure.
"h2 id="method">How the match and growth are calculatedThe employer match is calculated using the specific formula you enter, not a generic assumption:
Matched contribution % = min(your contribution %, match cap %) Employer contribution % = matched contribution % × match rate
For example, a common formula is "50% of the first 6% of salary" — meaning a match rate of 50% and a cap of 6%. Contributing exactly 6% captures the maximum 3% employer match; contributing less captures a proportionally smaller match; contributing more doesn't increase the match further, since it's already at the cap.
The combined contribution (yours plus the employer's) is then projected forward using standard compound growth, with contributions optionally rising each year to model raises.
A worked example
Starting at age 30 with $25,000 saved, earning $75,000 a year, contributing 6% with a 50%-up-to-6% employer match (capturing the full match), at an expected 7% annual return with 3% salary growth, projects to roughly $1.5 million by age 65 — nominal dollars 35 years from now, which is why the inflation-adjusted figure matters for understanding what that will actually be worth.
Why the employer match matters so much
An employer match is, in effect, an immediate and guaranteed return on the dollars contributed up to the matched amount — money that simply isn't paid if the contribution level isn't reached. Leaving match unclaimed by under-contributing is one of the more universally-agreed pieces of financial advice precisely because there's no real trade-off: it's paid regardless of the underlying investments' performance, unlike almost every other financial decision. This calculator flags the unclaimed amount directly, in dollars, when it applies.
Assumptions and limitations
- A single flat return for the whole career. Real markets go up and down substantially year to year; this shows the outcome of one steady assumed average, not the more volatile — and less predictable — real path.
- Contribution limits are not enforced. The IRS sets annual dollar limits on 401(k) contributions that are not checked against the percentage and salary entered here.
- Withdrawal taxes are not modelled. A traditional 401(k) balance is taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn in retirement — the ending balance shown is pretax, not spendable, dollars.
- Vesting schedules are not modelled. Some employers require a period of service before employer contributions are fully owned by the employee.
Common mistakes
Contributing below the match threshold. The single most common and most costly mistake — it's leaving part of total compensation unclaimed, not just a missed investment opportunity.
Ignoring fees because they look small. A 1% annual fee doesn't sound like much, but compounded against a growing balance over a multi-decade career, it can meaningfully reduce the ending balance — fees compound against you the same way returns compound for you.
Treating the nominal ending number as spendable, after-tax money. A traditional 401(k) balance owes ordinary income tax on withdrawal, and inflation erodes real purchasing power over a multi-decade horizon — the real (inflation-adjusted) figure and a tax-aware withdrawal plan both matter for translating this number into an actual retirement budget.
Frequently asked questions
At an absolute minimum, enough to capture the full employer match — that's close to free money. Beyond that, it depends on other financial priorities (high-rate debt, an emergency fund, other goals) and the IRS annual contribution limit, which changes periodically.
It means the employer contributes 50 cents for every dollar you contribute, up to a maximum employer contribution equal to 3% of your salary (50% of the 6% cap). Contributing more than 6% doesn't increase the match further; contributing less captures a proportionally smaller match.
Not directly — a traditional 401(k) balance is taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn, so the actual spendable amount is lower than the pretax balance shown. The projection also doesn't adjust for inflation in the nominal figure, which is why the real (today's-dollars) value is shown separately.
No — the IRS sets an annual dollar limit on 401(k) contributions (with a higher limit for catch-up contributions at age 50+) that periodically changes. This calculator uses the percentage and salary entered without checking that against the current-year limit.
The nominal balance is the actual dollar figure projected for the future. The real balance restates that same figure in today's purchasing power, accounting for the inflation rate entered — useful because a dollar 35 years from now buys less than a dollar today, and the nominal number alone can be misleading about what retirement will actually feel like financially.
That depends on whether you expect your tax rate to be higher now or in retirement, among other factors — see the Roth vs. Traditional IRA calculator for the mechanics of that comparison, which apply similarly to the Roth vs. traditional choice inside many 401(k) plans.