Updated for 2026 · employee limit $24,500 · combined cap $72,000 · IRS Notice 2025-67
401(k) Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement with your employer match, see exactly how much free match you're leaving on the table, and what it pays you per month in retirement. 2026 limits, no signup.
≈ $375/month · 6% of pay. 2026 limit: $24,500.
Cents matched per $1 you put in (50% = $0.50).
Up to this much of your salary is matched.
Your 401(k) at 65
$1,670,002
That could pay you about $5,567/month in retirement using the 4% rule (before tax — traditional 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as income).
You're capturing the full employer match — nicely done. Your employer adds $2,250 this year on top of what you save.
Your contributions
$260k
incl. your starting balance
Employer match
$112k
free money added
Investment growth
$1.3M
compounding over 35 years
Estimates for US tax year 2026. The employee elective-deferral limit is $24,500 ($32,500 at 50+, $35,750 at ages 60–63), and total employee + employer contributions can't exceed $72,000(IRS Notice 2025-67). The IRS raises these limits with inflation most years, so real future maximums are higher than the static 2026 figures used here. Growth compounds monthly at your expected return minus fees; markets vary and returns aren't guaranteed. Employer match assumes you're fully vested. The monthly-income figure applies the 4% rule to your ending balance and is pre-tax. General information, not financial advice — confirm with your plan administrator and at irs.gov.
How a 401(k) builds wealth — and why the match is everything
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement account that does three things at once: it lets you invest pre-tax dollars (lowering this year's taxable income), it grows tax-deferred so nothing is taxed until you withdraw, and — for most people — it comes with an employer match. That match is the single most important number on this page. If your employer matches 50% of your contributions up to 6% of pay, every dollar you put in (up to that 6%) instantly becomes $1.50. No investment reliably returns 50% overnight, which is why financial planners are near-unanimous: contribute at least enough to capture the full match before doing almost anything else with your money.
The free money most people leave on the table
Here's the trap this calculator is built to catch. If your employer matches up to 6% but you only contribute 3%, you're not just saving less — you're forfeiting half of your match every single paycheck, and that lost match would have compounded for decades. The tool computes exactly how many dollars of match you're walking away from each year and what it would have grown to by retirement, then shows the contribution percentage that captures all of it. For a typical saver that gap is often tens of thousands of dollars over a career — the easiest money you'll ever "earn" is simply checking that box.
2026 contribution limits, explained
The IRS caps what you can put in. For 2026 the employee limit is $24,500; add an $8,000 catch-up at 50+ ($32,500 total), or a larger $11,250 super catch-up for ages 60–63 ($35,750). Separately, the combined employee-plus-employer total can't exceed $72,000. These limits rise with inflation most years, which is why a young saver who always "maxes out" actually contributes more in real dollars over time than a static projection suggests. The calculator enforces the 2026 caps and flags when your input bumps into them.
Vesting, fees and the things that quietly cost you
Two details decide how much of the projected balance you actually keep. Vesting governs the employer match: many plans make you stay one to four years before that matched money is fully yours, so leaving early can forfeit some of it (your own contributions are always 100% yours). Feesare the silent drag — a 1% expense ratio doesn't sound like much, but compounded over 30 years it can quietly erase six figures from your ending balance. Use the advanced options to model fees and see the difference; favoring low-cost index funds is one of the few levers entirely in your control.
Early withdrawals, RMDs and getting the money out
A 401(k) is built for retirement, so the IRS discourages early access: withdraw before age 59½ and you generally owe ordinary income tax plus a 10% penalty, with limited exceptions (disability, certain medical costs, leaving your job at 55+, and others). On the other end, traditional 401(k)s force required minimum distributions starting at age 73, whether you need the money or not. And you choose between a traditional (pre-tax now, taxed later) and a Roth (taxed now, tax-free later) 401(k) — a decision that turns entirely on your tax rate today versus in retirement, which our Roth vs Traditional 401(k) calculator settles in dollars.
Worked example: 30 years old, $75,000 salary, 6% with a 50%-up-to-6% match
The setup. A 30-year-old earning $75,000 starts with $35,000 in their 401(k), contributes 6% of pay ($4,500 a year to start), and gets a 50% match up to 6% — so the employer adds 3% of salary, about $2,250 a year. Salary rises 2% a year, investments return 7%, and they retire at 65 (35 years).
The result. The account grows to roughly $1.67 million by 65. Of that, about $260,000 is their own contributions plus the starting balance, around $112,000 is employer match, and the remaining ~$1.30 million is investment growth — the clearest illustration of why starting early matters more than any other single factor.
The lesson.Because this saver contributes the full 6%, they capture every dollar of match. Had they contributed just 3%, they'd have left roughly $1,125 a year of free match behind — which, compounded to 65, is over $210,000 of lost retirement money for doing nothing more than under-contributing. That single setting, not the market, is the difference the calculator is designed to make obvious. Applying the 4% rule, the $1.67M balance supports about $5,570 a month in retirement, before tax.
Frequently asked questions
How much will my 401(k) pay me per month in retirement?
A common rule of thumb is the 4% rule: you can withdraw about 4% of your balance in the first year of retirement and adjust for inflation after that, with a good chance the money lasts 30 years. So a $1 million 401(k) supports roughly $40,000 a year, or about $3,300 a month — before tax, since traditional 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income. A $2 million balance roughly doubles that. The calculator above projects your balance at retirement and shows the matching 4% monthly figure, but your real number also depends on Social Security, other savings, your tax bracket and how long you need the money to last.
If I max out my 401(k) for 20 years, how much will I have?
Maxing the 2026 employee limit of $24,500 a year for 20 years at a 7% return grows to roughly $1.05 million from your contributions alone — and that's before any employer match, which can push it well past $1.3 million. The exact figure depends on your return and whether the IRS limit (which rises with inflation) lets you contribute more in later years. The takeaway is the power of consistency: most of that total is investment growth, not the cash you put in. Plug your own numbers into the calculator to see your 20-year (or 30-year) result with the match included.
What is a good employer 401(k) match?
A common and solid match is 50% of your contributions up to 6% of your salary (so the employer adds 3% of pay if you contribute at least 6%), or a dollar-for-dollar match up to 3–5%. Anything at or above a full dollar-for-dollar match up to 5–6% is generous. Whatever the formula, the golden rule is to contribute at least enough to capture the entire match — it's an instant, guaranteed return that beats almost any investment. The calculator flags exactly how much free match you'd forfeit if your contribution is set below your employer's limit, and the percentage that captures all of it.
What is the 401(k) contribution limit for 2026?
For 2026 you can contribute up to $24,500 of your own salary to a 401(k). If you're 50 or older you can add an $8,000 catch-up for $32,500 total, and savers aged 60 to 63 get a larger $11,250 super catch-up under SECURE 2.0 for $35,750 total. Your employer's match is on top of your own limit, but the combined employee-plus-employer total can't exceed $72,000 in 2026 (or 100% of your pay, if lower). These caps cover your traditional and Roth 401(k) contributions together, and the IRS adjusts them upward for inflation most years.
What rate of return should I expect on my 401(k)?
There's no guaranteed number, but a diversified stock-heavy 401(k) has historically returned roughly 7% a year after inflation (around 9–10% before inflation) over long periods, while more conservative or bond-heavy mixes return less. Most calculators, including this one, default to about 6–7% as a reasonable long-run assumption, but your actual return swings year to year and depends on your fund choices and fees. Because fees compound against you, even a 1% expense ratio can cost six figures over a career — use the fees field in the advanced options to see the drag for yourself.
Should I contribute to a 401(k) or a Roth IRA first?
The usual priority order is: first contribute to your 401(k) up to the full employer match (free money you should never skip), then max out a Roth IRA for its tax-free growth and flexibility, then come back and finish maxing the 401(k) toward the $24,500 limit. This captures the guaranteed match return first, then layers in tax diversification. Whether your 401(k) contributions should be traditional (pre-tax) or Roth (after-tax) depends on your tax rate now versus in retirement — our Roth vs Traditional 401(k) calculator runs that comparison in dollars.
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