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Plan your retirement with our free 401(k) calculator. Enter your age, salary, contributions, employer match and expected return to project your 401(k) balance at retirement.
Our free 401(k) calculator projects how much your workplace retirement account could be worth by the time you retire. It combines your current balance, yearly contributions, your employer’s matching dollars, and compound investment growth into a single clear projection. Follow these steps to get an accurate estimate:
Pro tip: Revisit the calculator once a year or after any raise. Increasing your contribution rate by just 1 percent of salary each year, a strategy called auto-escalation, can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your final balance without ever feeling like a sacrifice.
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan named after the section of the United States tax code that created it. It is a defined-contribution plan, which means you and often your employer contribute money into an individual account in your name, and the eventual benefit depends on how much goes in and how the investments perform. This is different from a traditional pension, where the employer promises a fixed monthly check.
Money enters a 401(k) through elective deferrals, the portion of your paycheck you choose to contribute each pay period. With a traditional 401(k), contributions are pre-tax: they reduce your taxable income today, grow tax-deferred, and are taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn in retirement. With a Roth 401(k), available at many employers, you contribute after-tax dollars, but qualified withdrawals in retirement, including all the growth, are completely tax-free. The Roth option is often attractive for younger workers who expect to be in a higher tax bracket later in life.
One of the most powerful features of a 401(k) is the employer match. Many companies add their own money to your account based on how much you contribute, for example matching 50 cents for every dollar you save, up to 6 percent of your salary. Financial planners call this free money because it is an instant, guaranteed return on your contributions that no market investment can reliably beat. Failing to contribute enough to earn the full match is like turning down part of your pay.
Employer contributions usually come with a vesting schedule, which determines when the matched money truly becomes yours. With cliff vesting, you own 100 percent of the match after a set period, often three years. With graded vesting, ownership phases in gradually, for example 20 percent per year over five years. Your own contributions are always 100 percent vested immediately.
The engine that makes a 401(k) so effective over a career is compound growth. Every dollar you invest earns returns, and those returns then earn their own returns in subsequent years. Over 30 or 40 years, compounding does most of the heavy lifting: in a typical projection, investment growth ends up larger than the total of all contributions combined. That is why starting early matters more than picking perfect investments.
Inside the plan, your money is invested in options your employer selects, usually mutual funds holding stocks and bonds, plus target-date funds that automatically shift from aggressive to conservative as you approach retirement. Two details deserve attention: your asset allocation (the mix of stocks and bonds, which should reflect your age and risk tolerance) and the expense ratio (the annual fee each fund charges). Even a 1 percent annual fee, repeated over 35 years, can erase hundreds of thousands of dollars, as the worked examples below demonstrate.
Finally, the tax benefits come with rules. Withdrawals before age 59 and one-half generally trigger a 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty plus income tax, with limited exceptions. And starting at age 73, rising to 75 under current law, the IRS requires required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional 401(k) accounts, forcing you to begin drawing the money down. Understanding these rules helps you avoid costly surprises.
The calculator projects your balance using the future-value formula for compound growth with regular contributions: FV = P x (1 + r)^n + C x [((1 + r)^n – 1) / r]. Here FV is the projected balance at retirement, P is your current balance (the principal), r is the expected annual rate of return expressed as a decimal, n is the number of years until retirement, and C is your total annual contribution (your deferrals plus any employer match). The first term grows your existing balance; the second term grows the stream of yearly contributions as an annuity.
Worked example 1. Maya is 30 with a current balance of $25,000. She earns $80,000, contributes 10 percent ($8,000 per year), and expects a 7 percent annual return over 35 years until age 65. First, grow the current balance: (1.07) to the power of 35 equals 10.6766, so $25,000 x 10.6766 = $266,915. Next, the annuity factor: ((1.07)^35 – 1) / 0.07 = (10.6766 – 1) / 0.07 = 138.237. Her contributions grow to $8,000 x 138.237 = $1,105,896. Add them together: $266,915 + $1,105,896 = $1,372,811. Notice that growth and compounding contributed more than $1 million of the total, far exceeding her $280,000 of lifetime contributions ($8,000 x 35).
Worked example 2. David is 40 with a $50,000 balance, contributes $12,000 per year, expects 6 percent returns, and retires at 65 (25 years). Grow the balance: (1.06) to the power of 25 equals 4.2919, so $50,000 x 4.2919 = $214,595. Annuity factor: (4.2919 – 1) / 0.06 = 54.865. Contributions grow to $12,000 x 54.865 = $658,380. Total: $214,595 + $658,380 = $872,975. Even starting at 40 with a solid salary, David reaches nearly $873,000 because 25 years is still enough time for compounding to multiply his money.
These examples assume contributions are made once per year and the return is constant, which is a simplification: real markets bounce around and most people contribute every paycheck. But the formula captures the essential truth of retirement math: time in the market and contribution rate dominate the outcome.
Consider Priya, who earns $80,000 and whose employer matches 50 percent of contributions up to 6 percent of salary. Priya contributes exactly 6 percent, which is $4,800 per year. The match adds 50 percent of that: $2,400 per year of free money. Her total annual contribution is therefore $7,200.
Over 30 years at a 7 percent annual return, the annuity factor is ((1.07)^30 – 1) / 0.07 = (7.6123 – 1) / 0.07 = 94.461. Her $7,200 yearly total grows to $7,200 x 94.461 = $680,119. If she also started with a $25,000 balance, that grows to $25,000 x 7.6123 = $190,308, for a combined projected balance of $870,427.
Now look at the match in isolation: those $2,400 annual match dollars, compounded over 30 years at 7 percent, become $2,400 x 94.461 = $226,706. That is nearly a quarter of a million dollars Priya receives simply for contributing 6 percent instead of 0 percent. If she had contributed only 3 percent of salary, the match would have been cut in half to $1,200 per year, forfeiting over $113,000 of future wealth. The lesson is concrete: always contribute at least enough to capture the entire employer match before spending or investing anywhere else, because no other financial move offers an instant 50 percent return.
Match formulas vary. Some employers match 100 percent up to 3 percent of salary; others use tiered formulas such as full matching on the first 3 percent plus half matching on the next 2 percent. Whatever the formula, the calculator match inputs let you model your exact plan: enter the match rate and the salary percentage it applies to, and the projection adds those dollars to every year of the forecast.
The IRS sets annual limits on 401(k) contributions, and maxing them out is one of the fastest ways to build wealth. For 2025, the elective deferral limit was $23,500 per year, with an additional catch-up contribution of $7,500 for workers age 50 and older; the combined employee-plus-employer total contribution limit was $70,000. Limits are adjusted for inflation each year, so always confirm the current figures at IRS.gov.
Suppose Jordan, age 35, contributes the full $23,500 every year for 30 years until age 65, earning 7 percent annually. The annuity factor for 30 years at 7 percent is 94.461, so his contributions grow to $23,500 x 94.461 = $2,219,829. His lifetime out-of-pocket contributions total $705,000 ($23,500 x 30), meaning compounding adds more than $1.5 million on top.
Now add catch-up contributions. From age 50 to 65, Jordan contributes an extra $7,500 per year for 15 years. The annuity factor for 15 years at 7 percent is ((1.07)^15 – 1) / 0.07 = (2.7590 – 1) / 0.07 = 25.129. The catch-up contributions grow to $7,500 x 25.129 = $188,468. Combined with the base projection, Jordan’s account reaches $2,219,829 + $188,468 = $2,408,297.
This example shows two things. First, the contribution limit is not just a rule; it is a target. Every year you contribute less than the maximum, you permanently lose that year’s tax-advantaged space, because limits do not roll over. Second, catch-up contributions are genuinely valuable: that extra $112,500 of contributions ($7,500 x 15) turns into $188,468 thanks to 15 years of compounding. If you are behind on savings in your 50s, the catch-up provision is a genuine second chance.
Keep building your financial picture with these companion tools: our Compound Interest Calculator isolates the compounding effect behind these projections, the Loan Calculator helps you weigh debt payoff against investing, and the CD Calculator compares guaranteed returns for the conservative slice of your portfolio.
This page hosts a 401(k) retirement calculator that projects an account balance at retirement from inputs: current age, retirement age, current balance, annual salary, employee contribution percentage, employer match percentage and match cap, and expected annual return. Projection formula: FV = P x (1 + r)^n + C x (((1 + r)^n – 1) / r), where C includes employee plus matched contributions. Key facts: the 2025 IRS elective deferral limit was $23,500 ($7,500 catch-up at age 50+); early withdrawals before age 59 and one-half incur a 10 percent penalty plus tax; employer matches vest per plan schedule; results are estimates for education, not financial advice.
Sources: IRS.gov, Retirement Topics on 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan Contribution Limits; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investor education resources. Contribution limits are inflation-adjusted annually; verify current-year figures before filing.
Enter your current age and planned retirement age, your existing 401(k) balance, annual salary, the percentage of salary you contribute, your employer’s match percentage and the salary cap it applies to, plus your expected annual return. The calculator compounds your current balance and annual contributions (yours + employer match) over the years until retirement.
Formula: FV = Balance × (1+r)^n + AnnualContribution × [((1+r)^n − 1) / r], where AnnualContribution = salary × your% + salary × min(your%, cap%) × match%.
Most advisors suggest at least enough to capture the full employer match (commonly 50% of the first 6% of salary), then 10–15% of salary total including the match. Use the 401k calculator above to see how different contribution rates change your retirement balance.
A typical match is “50 cents on the dollar up to 6% of salary” — contribute 6% of an $80,000 salary ($4,800) and your employer adds $2,400 free. Our calculator applies the match only up to the cap you enter.
Fidelity’s rule of thumb: 1× your salary by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60 and 10× by 67. The calculator shows your projected balance so you can compare.
A diversified stock-heavy portfolio has historically returned about 7% per year — many planners use 6–8%. The default here is 7%.
401(k)s have much higher contribution limits and often include an employer match, while IRAs offer more investment choice. Many people fund the 401(k) to the match, then an IRA, then back to the 401(k).
Generally you can, but withdrawals before age 59 and one-half trigger income tax plus a 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty, with limited exceptions such as disability or certain medical expenses. Many plans also allow 401(k) loans, which must be repaid with interest, usually within five years. Because penalties and lost compounding are so costly, early withdrawals should be a last resort.
You have four options: leave it in the old plan, roll it into your new employer’s plan, roll it into an IRA, or cash it out. Direct rollovers to an IRA or new 401(k) preserve the tax-deferred status with no penalty. Cashing out triggers income tax plus a 10 percent penalty if you are under 59 and one-half, which can erase more than a third of the balance.
It depends on your tax situation. Traditional contributions reduce your taxable income now and are taxed on withdrawal, which favors high earners who expect a lower tax rate in retirement. Roth contributions are made with after-tax dollars but qualified withdrawals are tax-free, which favors younger workers or anyone expecting higher future tax rates. Many savers split contributions between both.
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