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401(k) Retirement Calculator

401(k) retirement projection

The years between now and the day you stop working do most of the work

Money you save early has the longest to grow, so your age changes the answer more than almost anything else on these cards. A rough age is fine.

It is a plan, not a promise, and you can move it later

Try it a few years either way and watch the answer change. The last years before you stop are the ones where the balance is biggest, so each one of them adds the most.

The balance your 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan shows right now

Put 0 if you are starting from nothing. If an old plan from a previous job is still sitting there too, add the two together.

Your own pay, before anything is taken out of it

A ballpark is fine. Both what you save and what your employer adds are worked out as a share of this number, so it drives most of the answer. If you are married, use your pay only, not the household total, because the account is yours.

Put 6 if 6 cents of every dollar you earn is taken out of your pay and saved

It shows on your pay stub as a 401(k) or retirement line, and on your plan's website as your contribution or deferral percentage. Put 0 if nothing is going in yet.

Nobody can know the real figure in advance, so 6 or 7 is a common, cautious guess

The yearly investment return you want to assume. A real market does not hand you the same number every year, it goes up and down and sometimes falls, so treat this as an average over a long stretch rather than a forecast.

Put 100 if they match you dollar for dollar, or 50 if they add 50 cents for every dollar you save

This is the employer match. Benefits paperwork usually writes it as "we match 100% of the first 6% of pay" — the first of those two numbers goes here, and the second one is the next question. Put 0 if your employer does not put anything in, and the next question drops out of the flow.

Put 6 if your plan matches you up to 6 percent of your pay and nothing above that

In "we match 100% of the first 6% of pay", this is the second number. Paying in at least this much collects the whole match. Anything you save above it is still yours and still grows, it just is not matched.

A raise that just keeps pace with rising prices is usually 2 or 3

Because what you save is a share of your pay, a raise lifts both your own saving and the amount your employer adds. Skip this one and we assume your pay stays exactly where it is.

Your answer

These are example numbers. Type yours to see your own.

What this projection leaves out

It grows your savings by the same percentage every single year, so it never shows you the bad years a real market has. It does not apply the yearly limit the law puts on how much you can pay into a 401(k), so a large share of a large salary can project more going in than you are actually allowed to save. And it takes no tax off: money in a traditional 401(k) is taxed when you take it out in retirement, while a Roth 401(k) is taxed now and comes out untaxed later.

See how your 401(k) could grow by retirement. Enter your age, salary, contribution percentage, employer match and expected return — the projected balance, employer match, and investment growth update as you type, with a year-by-year breakdown.

A 401(k) grows by adding your yearly contribution plus the employer match to the balance, then earning your expected return on the whole amount, compounded every year until retirement. For example, contributing 6% of a $60,000 salary with a full 6% match adds $7,200 a year before any investment growth.

How to use the 401(k) retirement calculator

Work down the questions in order. Give your age now and the age you want to stop working, then the balance your plan shows today and what you earn in a year before tax. Say how much of your pay goes into the account as a percentage, and how much you expect your savings to grow each year. The last three questions are about your plan: how many cents your employer adds for every dollar you put in, the share of your pay they stop adding above, and how much your pay goes up in a typical year. Each of those has quick answers to tap beside it, including "They add nothing" and "It doesn't go up", so a plan without a match or a job without a rise takes one tap rather than a figure you have to work out. The projection updates as you type, there is no button to press and nothing is sent anywhere.

The big number is your projected balance at retirement. Below it you'll see how much came from your own contributions, how much your employer match added, and how much is investment growth compounding on top.

If your employer puts money in as well. Say how many cents your employer adds for every dollar you put in, then the share of your pay they stop adding above. If they match 50 cents on the dollar up to 6 percent of your pay, put 50 and 6. Paying in at least up to that share captures the full match, which is money you would otherwise leave behind. If your employer adds nothing, put 0 for the cents and the calculator leaves the employer match out of the projection entirely.

Everything runs in your browser, the numbers you type are never uploaded. These figures are estimates based on a fixed return, not financial advice; real returns, salaries, and contribution limits vary.

Common 401(k) questions

How does a 401(k) employer match work? An employer match means your company adds money to your 401(k) based on what you contribute. A common match is 100% of your contributions up to a cap, such as 6% of your salary. If you earn $60,000 and contribute at least 6%, the employer adds 6% of $60,000 — $3,600 — on top of your own contributions.

How much should I contribute to my 401(k)? A common guideline is to contribute at least enough to get the full employer match, since that match is free money. Many people aim for 10% to 15% of salary including the match. Enter different percentages above to see the long-term impact on your projected balance.

What return should I assume for a 401(k)? Historical long-term stock-market returns have averaged roughly 7% to 10% a year before inflation, but returns vary year to year and are never guaranteed. A 6% to 7% assumption is a common, moderately conservative estimate for projections.

Does this 401(k) calculator account for salary growth? Yes. You can enter an optional annual salary growth percentage, and the calculator increases your salary each year. Because your contributions and employer match are a percentage of salary, both grow as your salary does.

How is the projected balance calculated? Each year, your contribution and employer match are added to the balance, and the whole balance earns your expected annual return. This repeats every year from your current age to your retirement age, compounding the growth — exactly what the year-by-year table shows.

What does "for every dollar you put in, how many cents does your employer add?" mean? It is the employer match written the way you experience it. A plan that matches "100% of the first 6% of pay" adds a full dollar — 100 cents — for every dollar you save, and stops once you have paid in 6% of your pay. Put 100 in the first box and 6 in the second. If your employer adds nothing, put 0 and the follow-up question about the cap drops out of the flow.

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