A common match formula is 50% up to 6% of salary, meaning your employer adds 50 cents for every dollar you contribute, up to 6% of pay. If you contribute less than the match cap, you are leaving part of your compensation on the table — try to contribute at least enough to capture the full match before prioritizing other goals.
The annual contribution field is your own elective deferral from your paycheck — it does not include employer match, which this calculator computes separately and adds on top. That distinction matters because IRS contribution limits apply only to your own elective deferral, not the combined total.
The 2026 employee elective-deferral limit is $24,500 under age 50, $32,500 at 50+, and $35,750 for ages 60-63 (the newer SECURE 2.0 enhanced catch-up). This calculator flags contributions above the limit for your age as a non-blocking advisory — some plans do allow after-tax or mega-backdoor contributions beyond the standard limit, so it is informational, not a hard stop.
Without a salary entered, match is estimated as a percentage of your contribution amount alone. Entering your salary lets the calculator apply the match cap correctly — the maximum percentage of salary your employer will match — for a more accurate projection.
This models a single account with a fixed contribution and return rate — it does not track vesting schedules for employer contributions, Roth vs. Traditional 401(k) tax treatment, or combined employee-plus-employer §415(c) limits. For a Roth-specific projection, use the Roth IRA Calculator.
Future Value: Project expected account value at retirement.
Match Calculation: Estimate cumulative employer contributions.
Growth Chart: Visualize contribution and growth trajectory over time.
Breakdown: Separate totals by employee contribution, employer match, and growth.
Contribution Limit Advisory: Flags contributions above the 2026 IRS age-based limit as a non-blocking advisory.
Export Data: Save projections for planning and advisor reviews.
Retirement Planning: enter current balance, contribution, match, and growth rate to estimate future balance, and view a breakdown of contributions vs match vs growth.
Match Optimization: see how employer match compounds over time and compare full-match contribution vs a lower contribution.
Contribution Strategy: test different contribution levels and their impact on retirement balance, and add catch-up contributions (50+) to compare outcomes.
Investment Growth: evaluate the long-term impact of different growth assumptions, then export or copy projections for planning.
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