401K Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement including the employer match.
About 401K Calculator
Your projected balance combines the future value of your current savings with the future value of ongoing yearly contributions (yours plus any employer match), all growing at your assumed annual return.
Formulas
Future value of current balance
FV_B = B × (1 + r)ᵗ
- FV_B
- Future value of existing balance
- B
- Current 401(k) balance
- r
- Annual return rate (decimal)
- t
- Years to retirement
Future value of annual contributions
FV_C = PMT × ((1 + r)ᵗ − 1) / r
- FV_C
- Future value of all contributions
- PMT
- Total annual contribution (employee + employer match)
Employer match
Match = Salary × min(Your Rate, Match Cap)
- M
- Annual employer match
- S
- Annual salary
- c
- Your contribution rate (decimal)
- m
- Employer match cap (decimal)
Worked example
With the default values below, 401K Calculator returns Balance at Retirement of $983,777. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Current Balanceaccepts 0–10,000,000 $
- 25,000 $
- Annual Salaryaccepts 0–2,000,000 $
- 70,000 $
- Your Contributionaccepts 0–50 %
- 8 %
- Employer Match (up to)accepts 0–20 %
- 4 %
- Annual Returnaccepts 0–20 %
- 7 %
- Years to Retirementaccepts 1–50 years
- 30 years
Results
- Balance at Retirement
- $983,777
- Employer Match / Year
- $2,800
- Total Contributed
- $277,000
- Investment Growth
- $706,777
Step by step
- 1Your annual contribution to the 401(k)= $5,600
- 2Employer match (capped at the lower of your rate and employer's limit)= $2,800Employer match is capped at 4.0% of salary.
- 3Total annual contribution (employee + employer)= $8,400
- 4Growth factor over retirement horizon: (1 + r)ᵗ= 7.6123
- 5Future value of current balance= $190,306
- 6Future value of ongoing contributions: PMT × ((1 + r)ᵗ − 1) / r= $793,471
- 7Projected balance at retirement= $983,777
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 6 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to whole numbers, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- Projections are estimates only and not financial or retirement advice. Consult a licensed financial advisor.
- This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Projections are estimates only and not financial or retirement advice. Consult a licensed financial advisor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does employer matching work?
Employers often match your contributions up to a percentage of salary. The match here is capped at the lower of your contribution rate and the employer's stated limit.
Is investment return guaranteed?
No. Markets fluctuate year to year. This projection assumes a steady average return for illustration only.