PayCalcSavings and growth
401(k) Calculator
See what your 401(k) could grow to by retirement: your contributions, your employer's match worked out with the real match formula, salary increases, and investment growth. Unlike simpler retirement calculators, this one asks for the return you expect, because the answer depends on it more than almost anything else.
How it works
Each year, your contribution is your salary multiplied by your contribution percentage, capped at the IRS limit for your age that year (2026 limits: $24,500 under 50, $32,500 at 50 to 59 and 64 and over, $35,750 at 60 to 63, per IRS Notice 2025-67; the calculator flags any year your contribution hits the cap). The employer's contribution uses the standard match formula: the smaller of your contribution and the match limit (salary x the "first X%" figure), multiplied by the match rate. The balance grows by your expected return each year, contributions are added at the end of each year, and salary rises by your expected increase before the next year's contribution. Figures are nominal, before tax and inflation, and investment growth is the part of the final balance that came from returns rather than contributions. Two IRS limits are applied every year: your own contribution cap above, and the overall limit on your contributions and your employer's combined ($72,000 for 2026 under section 415(c)); the employer figure is reduced if the two together would pass it. Employer money that is not a match on your own contributions, such as profit-sharing, is not modeled. The 2026 limits are held constant for every year of the projection (the IRS adjusts them most years, so later years use today's figures), and each year's limit uses your age at the start of that year.
Worked example
Age 30, retiring at 65, with a $10,000 balance and a $60,000 salary that stays flat. You contribute 10% ($6,000 a year) and your employer matches 50% of the first 6% ($1,800 a year). At a 7% annual return the balance reaches about $1,185,013 at 65: $210,000 from you, $63,000 from your employer, $10,000 you started with, and roughly $902,013 from investment growth. The growth figure is why starting early and capturing the full match matter more than small differences in contributions.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I contribute to a 401(k) in 2026?
For 2026 the IRS limit on your own contributions is $24,500 if you are under 50. At 50 to 59 and at 64 and over, catch-up contributions raise it to $32,500, and at 60 to 63 a larger catch-up raises it to $35,750 (IRS Notice 2025-67). Employer contributions do not count against your own limit. This calculator applies the limit for your age each year.
How is the employer match calculated?
Employer contribution = the smaller of your own contribution and the plan's match limit, multiplied by the match rate. Contributing 10% of a $60,000 salary ($6,000) to a plan matching 50% of the first 6% earns $1,800: the limit is $3,600 and 50% of that is $1,800.
What return should I assume?
Nobody knows future returns. Long-run US stock market averages are often quoted near 7% a year after inflation and around 10% before it, but past performance does not guarantee future results. Try a cautious figure like 5% and a higher one like 8% and plan around the cautious end.
This calculator gives an estimate for planning. Projections are not a guarantee of future returns, and figures are before tax and inflation. See the disclaimer.