Your gross annual salary before taxes.
2026 IRS employee contribution limit is $24,500 ($32,500 if age 50+; $35,750 at ages 60–63). Limits change annually — verify with the IRS.
What percent of your contributions the employer matches. Common rates: 50% or 100%.
Max salary % the employer matches on. Common cap: 3–6% of salary.
Your existing 401(k) balance today.
How many years until you plan to retire.
A diversified 60/40 portfolio has historically returned ~7% before fees.
Projected 401(k) Balance
$934,895
Total 401(k) value at retirement age.
Annual Employer Match
$2,400
Free money from your employer per year — always contribute enough to capture the full match.
Your Total Contributions
$144,000
Your cumulative employee contributions over the entire period.
Total Employer Match
$72,000
Cumulative employer contributions — the real cost of leaving your match on the table.
Investment Growth
$693,895
Compound returns earned above all contributions and your starting balance.
Estimate only — not financial advice; lender terms, fees, and taxes vary. Read the full disclaimer ↓
Projected balance, cumulative contributions (yours plus employer match), and investment growth at the end of each year, using the same monthly compounding as the calculator above.
| Year | Contributions | Investment growth | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $32,200 | $2,043 | $34,243 |
| Year 2 | $39,400 | $4,754 | $44,154 |
| Year 3 | $46,600 | $8,181 | $54,781 |
| Year 4 | $53,800 | $12,377 | $66,177 |
| Year 5 | $61,000 | $17,396 | $78,396 |
| Year 6 | $68,200 | $23,299 | $91,499 |
| Year 7 | $75,400 | $30,149 | $105,549 |
| Year 8 | $82,600 | $38,015 | $120,615 |
| Year 9 | $89,800 | $46,970 | $136,770 |
| Year 10 | $97,000 | $57,092 | $154,092 |
| Year 11 | $104,200 | $68,467 | $172,667 |
| Year 12 | $111,400 | $81,185 | $192,585 |
| Year 13 | $118,600 | $95,343 | $213,943 |
| Year 14 | $125,800 | $111,044 | $236,844 |
| Year 15 | $133,000 | $128,401 | $261,401 |
| Year 16 | $140,200 | $147,533 | $287,733 |
| Year 17 | $147,400 | $168,569 | $315,969 |
| Year 18 | $154,600 | $191,646 | $346,246 |
| Year 19 | $161,800 | $216,912 | $378,712 |
| Year 20 | $169,000 | $244,524 | $413,524 |
| Year 21 | $176,200 | $274,654 | $450,854 |
| Year 22 | $183,400 | $307,482 | $490,882 |
| Year 23 | $190,600 | $343,203 | $533,803 |
| Year 24 | $197,800 | $382,027 | $579,827 |
| Year 25 | $205,000 | $424,178 | $629,178 |
| Year 26 | $212,200 | $469,897 | $682,097 |
| Year 27 | $219,400 | $519,442 | $738,842 |
| Year 28 | $226,600 | $573,088 | $799,688 |
| Year 29 | $233,800 | $631,133 | $864,933 |
| Year 30 | $241,000 | $693,895 | $934,895 |
Annual employee contribution = Salary × Employee %.
$80,000 salary, 6% employee contribution, employer matches 50% up to 6% of salary, $25,000 balance, 30 years at 7%.
Annual Employee Contribution (6%)
$4,800
Annual Employer Match (50% of 6%)
$2,400
Total Annual Contribution
$7,200
Current Balance
$25,000
Years to Retirement
30
Projected Balance
$934,895
Your Total Contributions
$144,000
Total Employer Match
$72,000
Investment Growth
$693,895
The employer match adds $72,000 of direct contributions over 30 years — and through compounding, contributes far more to the final balance. Not contributing enough to capture the full match means leaving a portion of your compensation on the table.
A 401(k) is a workplace retirement plan, and its defining feature is the employer match — money your employer adds on top of your own contribution. A typical "50% up to 6%" match hands you a 50% return on the first 6% of pay you contribute, before the market does anything. No investment reliably beats a guaranteed 50%.
That is why the first rule of a 401(k) is to contribute at least enough to capture the full match. Contributing 3% when the match caps at 6% does not lose a little — it forfeits half of free money you were offered, every single year.
Traditional 401(k) contributions come out of pay before income tax, so they lower this year’s taxable income while they grow. The trade is that withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income — you defer the tax rather than avoid it.
The other advantage is room: the 401(k) employee limit is far above an IRA’s — $24,500 for 2026 (up from $23,500 in 2025), with an extra $8,000 catch-up once you are 50 and a larger $11,250 catch-up at ages 60–63. That ceiling, plus the match, is why the 401(k) is usually the first account to fill.
The projected balance combines three engines: your contributions, the employer match, and decades of compound growth on both. Early on your own deposits dominate; over a full career, growth and the compounded match typically dwarf what you put in, which the year-by-year table makes visible.
Watching the growth column overtake your contributions is the real lesson — it is why starting a few years earlier can matter more than contributing a few percent more later.
Employer match dollars often vest on a schedule — you earn full ownership only after a set number of years. Leave before you are vested and you can forfeit the unvested portion, even though it showed up in your balance.
Before changing jobs, check your plan’s vesting schedule. Timing a move just past a vesting cliff can be worth thousands that this projection, which ignores vesting, does not subtract.
Two 401(k)s with identical contributions can end up far apart because of fund expense ratios. A 1% annual fee compounded over 30 years can quietly consume a large slice of the final balance, so favouring low-cost index funds inside the plan is one of the highest-value choices available.
The opposite mistake is leaving contributions in a cash or money-market default, where they barely grow. The return you enter here only happens if the money is actually invested in a diversified portfolio.
This is an illustration with a constant salary, steady contributions, and a fixed return. It ignores IRS contribution limits and catch-up rules, vesting, the tax due on withdrawals, plan fees, and required minimum distributions (which generally begin at age 73).
Verify the current limits with the IRS and the match, vesting, and fund details with your plan administrator before making decisions that depend on the number.
An employer match is free money your company contributes when you contribute to your 401(k). A common structure is "50% match on up to 6% of salary" — contributing 6% earns an extra 3% from your employer. Always contribute at least enough to capture the full match; it’s an immediate 50–100% return on that portion.
The IRS employee contribution limit for 2026 is $24,500, up from $23,500 in 2025. Workers age 50 and older can add an $8,000 catch-up contribution for a total of $32,500, and a larger $11,250 catch-up applies at ages 60–63 (a $35,750 total). Employer contributions do not count toward the employee limit. These limits are adjusted annually, so confirm the current figure with the IRS.
Traditional contributions are pre-tax (lower taxable income now; taxed at withdrawal). Roth contributions are after-tax (no deduction now; qualified withdrawals are tax-free). Younger workers or those expecting higher tax rates in retirement generally benefit more from Roth.
Vesting determines when employer contributions legally become yours. Some plans vest immediately; others use a graded schedule over 2–6 years. Leaving a job before you are fully vested may mean forfeiting some or all of the employer match. Check your Summary Plan Description.
The employer matches your contributions only up to the match cap, expressed as a percent of salary. The tool uses the smaller of your contribution rate and the cap as the matched base, then applies the match rate to it. Contributing above the cap still grows your balance, but earns no additional match — so the cap is the minimum you generally want to hit.
Over a long horizon, compounding does the heavy lifting: returns earn returns year after year, so the growth portion eventually exceeds everything you and your employer put in. The year-by-year table shows that crossover, which is why time in the market matters as much as the amount contributed.
Figures on this page are checked against primary, authoritative sources. Links open in a new tab.
Investment disclaimer
Returns are assumptions, not guarantees. Actual results may vary because of market performance, taxes, fees, inflation, and timing. This is an educational projection, not investment advice.
Built and maintained by Calculator Matters, an independent calculator project. Method checked against published formulas and primary sources · Last reviewed 5 June 2026 · How we calculate · Found an error? corrections@calculatormatters.com