401(k) Calculator
A 401(k) grows from three things working together: what you put in, what your employer adds, and years of compounding. Slide your salary, contribution rate, match, and return to project your future balance. Pay special attention to how much the match contributes on its own.
About $1,057,308 after 30 years. Your employer’s match adds $2,400/year of free money — $72,000 in contributions alone before growth.
Worked examples
Real results from this calculator, computed for a few common scenarios. Move the sliders above to run your own numbers.
| Annual salary = $116,000 | About $1,533,097 after 30 years. Your employer’s match adds $3,480/year of free money — $104,400 in contributions alone before growth. |
| Annual salary = $260,000 | About $3,436,252 after 30 years. Your employer’s match adds $7,800/year of free money — $234,000 in contributions alone before growth. |
| Annual salary = $404,000 | About $5,339,406 after 30 years. Your employer’s match adds $12,120/year of free money — $363,600 in contributions alone before growth. |
Your next step
Retirement Planning
Build, project, and draw down your nest egg with confidence, at any age or savings rate.
Related toolCompound Interest Calculator
Watch small monthly deposits curve into serious money over time.
Related toolRetirement Calculator
Project your nest egg and the monthly income it could support.
How this math works
Your contribution is a percent of your salary set aside each year, and the employer match adds a percent of what you contribute up to a cap stated as a percent of salary. We add both streams every month and let the balance compound at your chosen return until retirement.
The employer match is the closest thing to free money in personal finance, since it is extra pay you only receive by contributing. Contributing at least enough to capture the full match is almost always the highest-return move available to you.
Common questions
How does the employer match work?
Your employer adds a percent of what you contribute, up to a cap measured against your salary. A common setup is 50 percent of your contributions up to 6 percent of salary, which we use as the default.
Why should I get the full match?
The match is additional compensation you earn only by contributing, so leaving it on the table is leaving guaranteed money behind. It is usually the first goal before any other investing.
Is the projected return guaranteed?
No. The annual return you set is an assumption, and real markets rise and fall year to year. Use the projection as a planning guide, not a promise.
Put this calculator on your website
Bloggers, teachers, credit unions, HR teams: embed the live 401(k) Calculator free. Copy the snippet below — the tool keeps working and stays up to date automatically, no maintenance on your side.
The Flourish Letter
One useful money idea every Friday, with the interactive chart so you can check the math. Free. Welcome path: free printable toolkit (calendar, debt sheet, raise script, and more).