How This Projection Works
This calculator models three separate growth streams: your existing balance compounding at your expected return, your ongoing contributions compounding as they're added year over year, and your employer match compounding the same way. We assume your salary — and therefore your dollar contributions — grows annually, and that both your contributions and the match happen consistently throughout each year.
Understanding Each Input
Current Balance
What's in your 401(k) today. This amount compounds on its own at your expected return, separate from new contributions.
Annual Salary
Used to calculate your dollar contribution and employer match each year, since both are typically expressed as a percentage of pay.
Contribution Rate
The percentage of your salary you elect to contribute. This calculator assumes it stays constant as a percentage, even as your salary grows.
Employer Match (up to) & Match Rate
The cap is the percentage of salary your employer will match; the match rate is how many cents on the dollar they contribute — "50" means 50 cents per dollar, up to the cap.
Years Until Retirement
How many years your money has left to compound. Growth is more sensitive to this input than almost any other.
Expected Annual Return
Your assumed average yearly investment growth rate — an assumption you control, not a guarantee. See the FAQ below on choosing one.
Annual Salary Growth
How much your salary is assumed to rise each year from raises and promotions. This increases your dollar contribution over time even at a constant contribution rate.
A Worked Example
Sarah is 35 with $50,000 already saved, earning $70,000 a year. She contributes 8% of her salary, and her employer matches 50 cents per dollar up to 6% of pay. She assumes a 7% average annual return and 3% average salary growth, with 30 years until retirement. Entering those exact numbers into the calculator above produces:
| Growth Source | Projected Amount at Retirement |
|---|---|
| Current balance, compounding alone | $380,613 |
| Sarah's own contributions, compounding as added | $750,876 |
| Employer match, compounding as added | $281,578 |
| Total projected balance | $1,413,067 |
Notice that Sarah's own contributions end up outgrowing her starting balance, even though she began with real money already invested — because contributions kept compounding for three full decades. Try the calculator above with your own numbers to see how your mix compares.
Try Changing One Variable at a Time
A useful way to use this calculator is to hold everything constant and change one input to see how much it actually moves the result — that's a more honest test than staring at one static number. Starting from Sarah's baseline above ($1,413,067 projected):
| What Changed | New Projected Balance | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution rate raised from 8% to 10% | $1,600,786 | +$187,719 |
| Retirement delayed by 2 years (30 → 32 years) | $1,658,420 | +$245,353 |
Both changes sound modest in isolation — two extra percentage points of contribution, or two extra years of work — but each adds well over $150,000 to the projected outcome in this scenario, because both changes compound over the full remaining time horizon rather than being one-time adjustments. Try adjusting your own inputs above the same way: change one field, note the new total, then change it back and try another.
Retirement Planning Beyond This Calculator
A 401(k) balance is usually only one piece of a full retirement picture. Depending on your situation, you may also have Social Security benefits, a pension, an IRA, taxable brokerage accounts, or home equity contributing to your overall retirement readiness. This tool intentionally stays narrow — it projects your 401(k) balance specifically — so that its assumptions stay transparent and easy to check. If you want to see how your 401(k) balance might translate into actual retirement income, or how it fits alongside other savings and expected income sources, that's a broader planning exercise worth doing with a full picture of your finances, ideally with the help of a licensed financial professional.
What This Calculator Doesn't Model
To keep the projection transparent and easy to understand, this tool uses a simplified constant-return model. It does not account for: year-to-year market volatility (real returns are never a smooth straight line), plan or fund fees (which reduce your effective return over time), sequence-of-returns risk near retirement, or IRS contribution-limit caps if your dollar contribution eventually exceeds the annual limit in later years. Treat the result as an illustration of the mechanics, not a forecast or guarantee.
2026 Contribution Limits — Verify Before You Plan
If your contribution rate and salary would put your annual dollar contribution above the IRS elective deferral limit, this calculator won't automatically cap it — check your remaining room with our Contribution Limit Checker. Contribution limits and catch-up amounts are set annually by the IRS and can change year to year, so always confirm the current figure directly at irs.gov rather than relying solely on a third-party site. Last reviewed: August 13, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What return rate should I use?
There's no universally "correct" number. A commonly cited long-term average for a diversified, stock-heavy portfolio is in the 6–8% range after inflation, based on historical market data — but any given year (or decade) can land well outside that range. Many planners suggest using a more conservative figure than the historical average, especially the closer you are to retirement.
Why does the employer match grow into such a large number?
Because it's contributed every year for decades and compounds the same way your own contributions do. A match that looks small in any single year (a few thousand dollars) becomes substantial after 20–30 years of compounding.
Does this calculator account for taxes?
No — it projects the pre-tax balance only. Traditional 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income in retirement; Roth 401(k) qualified withdrawals are not. Use our Roth vs. Traditional Calculator to compare the after-tax outcome of each.
What if my salary doesn't grow at a steady rate?
Real raises rarely arrive in a perfectly smooth line. The salary growth input is an average assumption to smooth out irregular raises, job changes, and promotions over a multi-decade projection — try the calculator with a lower and higher growth rate to see a realistic range.
Should I include Social Security in this projection?
No — this calculator projects your 401(k) balance only, not your total retirement income. Social Security, pensions, and other savings are separate income sources to consider alongside your 401(k) when planning your overall retirement income.
How often should I re-run this calculator?
Whenever something material changes — a raise, a new employer match formula, a change in your contribution rate — or simply once a year as part of a regular financial check-in.
Is this the same as my 401(k) provider's projection tool?
It may differ. Your plan provider's tool may use different default assumptions, may include your specific fund's fee structure, or may model contribution limits automatically. Use both as reference points, not a single source of truth.
Can I use this if I have a 403(b) or 457 plan instead of a 401(k)?
The underlying compound-growth and employer-match math is the same for 403(b) and 457(b) plans, so this calculator's projection logic still applies — just be aware that contribution limits and specific plan rules can differ from a standard 401(k), so verify your plan's actual limit with your plan administrator.
Related Calculators & Guides
Check if you're capturing your full employer match →
See your remaining 2026 contribution room →
Compare Roth vs. Traditional after-tax outcomes →
Read: How 401(k) Compound Growth Actually Works →