How to use this 401(k) calculator
- Enter your age, the age you plan to retire, your salary, your expected yearly raise and your current 401(k) balance.
- Choose a contribution as a percent of pay, or pick "The maximum" to contribute the most the IRS allows each year.
- Enter your employer match formula. Use the second tier for formulas like 100% of the first 3% plus 50% of the next 2%.
- Check the return, inflation, fees and withdrawal rate under Assumptions, then read your balance, the match breakdown and the risk tests.
How much will my 401(k) be worth?
It depends on four things: how much goes in each year, how many years it compounds, the return after fees, and inflation. Here is a typical case, computed by the calculator.
Maya is 30, earns $75,000 and has $25,000 in her 401(k). She contributes 6% of her salary, and her employer matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of pay. She expects 3% raises, a 7% return, 3% inflation and 0.1% fees, a real return of 3.79% a year. At 65:
- Her 401(k) holds $568,160 in today's dollars, about $1,598,723 in the dollars of 35 years from now.
- She put in $157,500 over 35 years, her employer added $78,750, and investment growth added $306,910 on top of her starting $25,000.
- At a 4% withdrawal rate, the balance pays about $22,726 a year ($1,894 a month) in today's dollars, before tax.
Growth is 54% of her final balance. That is why starting early matters so much: the money contributed in your 30s has the most years to compound.
What are the 2026 401(k) contribution limits?
In 2026 you can defer up to $24,500 of your salary into a 401(k). From age 50 you can add an $8,000 catch-up, and if you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year the catch-up is $11,250 instead[1][3]. Everything added to your account in a year, from you and your employer, is capped at the lesser of your pay or $72,000, with catch-ups allowed on top[2].
| Your age in 2026 | Most you can defer | Most with employer contributions |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50 | $24,500 | $72,000 |
| 50-59 and 64 or older | $32,500 | $80,000 |
| 60, 61, 62 or 63 | $35,750 | $83,250 |
Two more 2026 rules can matter. A plan can only count pay up to $360,000 when it works out contributions and matches, and if your 2025 wages were over $150,000, any catch-up contributions you make in 2026 must be Roth contributions[1].
The IRS raises these limits with inflation over time, so the calculator holds them flat in today's dollars for every future year, which is the same as assuming they keep pace with inflation. It applies the right catch-up for each age, so a saver who maxes out sees contributions step up at 50, again at 60, and back down at 64.
How does a 401(k) employer match work?
An employer match is money your employer adds for each dollar you defer, up to a limit; your plan document sets whether there is one and the formula[4]. Formulas are written as a match rate on contributions up to a share of your pay. The table shows four example formulas on Maya's $75,000 salary.
| Employer matches | Contribute at least | Match (share of pay) | Match a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50% of contributions up to 6% of pay | 6% | 3% | $2,250 |
| 100% of contributions up to 3% of pay, plus 50% of the next 2% | 5% | 4% | $3,000 |
| 100% of contributions up to 4% of pay | 4% | 4% | $3,000 |
| 100% of contributions up to 6% of pay | 6% | 6% | $4,500 |
The match doesn't use up your own $24,500 limit; it counts toward the $72,000 overall limit instead[2]. Matched money may also vest over a few years, so leaving a job early can mean leaving some of it behind[5].
How much match are you leaving on the table?
If you contribute less than the full-match percentage, you give up part of your pay. Say Maya contributed 3% instead of 6%. Her employer would add $1,125 less every year, $39,375 over her career. Invested at the same return, that missed match alone would have grown to $79,393 by 65. Counting her own smaller contributions too, she retires with $329,981 instead of $568,160, $238,178 less.
The calculator shows this callout whenever your contribution is below your match cap, with the amount for this year and for your whole career.
How much do 401(k) fees cost you?
More than they look. In a Department of Labor example, $25,000 left to grow for 35 years at 7% reaches $227,000 with 0.5% in fees but only $163,000 with 1.5%: one percentage point of fees cuts the final balance by 28%[7]. In our calculator, Maya's balance at 65 falls from $568,160 to $469,565 if her fees are 1% instead of 0.1%, 17% less. Check your plan's fee disclosure and enter the expense ratio of the funds you hold.
How much income will my 401(k) give me in retirement?
A common way to turn a balance into income is a withdrawal rate: take a set share of the starting balance in year one, then adjust that amount for inflation. William Bengen found a 4% first-year withdrawal lasted at least 33 years in every period he tested[10], and the Trinity study found 4% succeeded in 95%-98% of 30-year periods for stock-heavy portfolios[11]. Morningstar's 2025 estimate of a safe starting rate is 3.9% for 30 years[12]. So the calculator multiplies your balance by your chosen rate, 4% by default.
That income is before tax: traditional 401(k) money is taxed as income when you withdraw it[4]. It also leaves out Social Security and any pension. To see your whole picture, use the retirement calculator, which adds Social Security and pensions and tells you whether you are on track.
Returns vary from year to year, and a crash early in retirement does the most damage[15]. The risk section replays your plan through 2,000 Monte Carlo simulations and every retirement start year since 1928, using US stock, Treasury and inflation data[13]. US stocks returned 10.0% a year over that period, while Vanguard's 10-year forecast is 4.8%-6.8%[14]. The default 7% sits between the two.
When can I take money out of my 401(k)?
Withdrawals before age 59½ are early distributions and usually owe a 10% additional tax on top of income tax. One useful exception: if you leave your job during or after the year you turn 55, withdrawals from your 401(k) can avoid the 10% tax. This "Rule of 55" applies to workplace plans, not IRAs[8]. If you plan to retire before 59½, the early retirement calculator shows how to bridge the gap.
At the other end, required minimum distributions generally start at 73. If you are still working, you can usually delay them from your current employer's plan until you retire, unless you own 5% of the business, and designated Roth 401(k) accounts have no required distributions during your lifetime[9].
Should I max out my 401(k)?
Maxing out means deferring the full limit every year, catch-ups included. Take a 45-year-old earning $150,000 with $200,000 saved and the same match. Contributing the maximum from 45 to 65 builds $1,437,194 in today's dollars, against $813,782 at 6% of pay. The extra comes from $443,000 more of their own contributions and the growth on them; the match is the same because 6% already earns all of it.
Weigh it against the rest of your plan, such as an emergency fund, any high-interest debt and goals that come before retirement. Try both in the calculator and compare the income each one buys.
What does this calculator assume?
- All results are in today's dollars. Raises are converted to real terms using your inflation rate, and the 2026 limits stay flat in real terms.
- Contributions and the match are added at the end of each year, which slightly understates growth compared with contributions every paycheck.
- The match is based on everything you defer, including catch-ups. Your plan's rules decide whether catch-ups are matched and how the match is worked out.
- Pay above $360,000 isn't counted for contributions or the match, and the employer match is trimmed if you would exceed the overall limit.
- No loans, hardship withdrawals, job changes or vesting losses, and no taxes. Use the Roth calculator for the tax side.