401(k) Calculator

Use this free 401(k) calculator to see how much your 401(k) could be worth when you retire. Enter your salary, how much of it you put in, your employer match and your balance today, and see your savings at retirement, how much your employer adds and whether you are getting the full match. Your contributions are kept within the yearly IRS limit, and a chart and a year-by-year table show how your 401(k) grows. It also works for a 403(b) or 457(b). It is free and instant, and your numbers stay in your browser.

Amounts in this guide are in US dollars. The examples use a $60,000 salary rising 2% a year, from age 30 to 65, a 50% match up to 6% of salary, $20,000 already saved and a 7% yearly return.

How much should I contribute to my 401(k)?

First, put in at least enough to get the whole employer match. The match is extra pay you only get if you save, so missing it means leaving money on the table. After that, many guides suggest saving 10% to 15% of your pay for retirement in total. Here is what different amounts grow to by age 65:

The employer part stops growing above 6%, because that is the most this employer matches.

How the employer match works

A match is usually written as a percent of what you put in, up to a percent of your salary. With a 50% match up to 6%, on a $60,000 salary:

• You put in 6% ($3,600 a year), and your employer adds $1,800.
• You put in 4% ($2,400 a year), and your employer adds only $1,200, so you miss $600 a year.

Some employers also add a set percent of your salary whatever you put in. Enter it under More options. Check your plan's vesting rules too: employer money may only become fully yours after you have worked there for a few years.

401(k) contribution limits for 2026

For 2026 you can put in up to $24,500 of your own money. From age 50 you can add a catch-up contribution of $8,000, making $32,500, and at ages 60 to 63 the catch-up is $11,250. Employer contributions do not count toward your $24,500. The same limits apply to 403(b) plans, governmental 457(b) plans and the Thrift Savings Plan. The calculator keeps your contributions within these limits and assumes they rise with inflation in later years.

How much should I have in my 401(k) by age?

A common guideline from Fidelity is to have saved about 1 times your salary by 30, 3 times by 40, 6 times by 50, 8 times by 60 and 10 times by 67. It counts all your retirement savings, not just your 401(k). In the first 10 years, putting in 6% with the full match grows the example 401(k) from $20,000 to about $124,517. Starting early matters most: saving 6% from age 25 with nothing saved grows to about $1,504,105 by 65, from 35 to about $672,434, and from 45 to about $272,252.

What is a good rate of return?

Many people use 6% to 8% a year for a 401(k) invested mostly in stocks, and a lower rate as they get closer to retirement and move into safer investments. Small differences add up over decades: the 4% example above reaches about $556,051 at 5%, $706,205 at 6%, $906,009 at 7% and $1,173,203 at 8%.

How much will my 401(k) pay me each month?

A popular rule of thumb, the 4% rule, says you can take out about 4% of your savings in your first year of retirement and then raise it with inflation. With $906,009 at 65, that is about $36,240 a year, or $3,020 a month. For a full plan with Social Security, spending and how long your money will last, use the Retirement Calculator.

Traditional or Roth 401(k)?

With a traditional 401(k), the money goes in before tax, which lowers your tax bill now, and you pay tax when you take it out. With a Roth 401(k), you pay tax now and qualified withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. Both share the same yearly limit. The calculator shows the balance before any tax, so you can use it for either.

403(b) and 457(b) plans

Teachers, nonprofit staff and government workers often have a 403(b) or 457(b) instead of a 401(k). They work the same way and share the same 2026 limit, so you can use this calculator for them too.