401(k) Calculator (2026)
Project your 401(k) retirement balance from your salary, how much you contribute, your employer match, your current balance, the years left until retirement, and an expected rate of return. See how much of the growth comes from the employer match. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
Estimate updates as you type. Contributing at least up to the employer match is widely described as a priority, because the match is extra money.
How the 401(k) projection works
Each year the calculator adds your contribution and the employer match, then grows the running balance by the expected return. Your contribution is salary × your percent; the employer match is salary × the match percent. The balance compounds: new balance = (old balance + contributions for the year) × (1 + return). Over many years, compounding means a large share of the final balance can come from growth on past contributions rather than the contributions themselves. The return you assume drives the result, so try a few.
Why the employer match matters so much
The employer match is effectively additional pay that only lands in your account if you contribute. A common formula matches your contributions up to a few percent of salary, so contributing at least that much is often described as the first step before anything else. Lower the match field if your plan offers less, or raise it if it offers more, and watch how much the "employer match added" figure grows over the years. Always confirm your exact match formula with your plan documents.
Common questions
What return should I use?
There is no guaranteed return, so it is common to test a range rather than a single figure. A lower assumption gives a more cautious projection, while a higher one shows an optimistic case. Markets can fall in any year, including the years just before retirement, so treat any single projected number as an illustration, not a promise.
Is this balance before or after taxes?
For a traditional 401(k), the projected balance is pre-tax: withdrawals in retirement are generally taxed as income. A Roth 401(k) is funded with after-tax money and qualified withdrawals are generally tax-free. This tool does not model taxes, fees, or inflation, so future dollars also buy less than today's.
Is my data saved?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is stored, transmitted, or shared.
Method: year-by-year projection compounding the current balance plus annual contributions (salary times contribution percent) and employer match (salary times match percent) at the assumed annual return. General references include published explainers from Bankrate, NerdWallet, SmartAsset, and the IRS retirement topics pages. Always verify your match formula, contribution limits, and plan details with your provider.