401(k) Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement with your contribution rate, employer match, salary growth, fees, and historical return assumptions. Free, sourced, no signup.
Last reviewed: · Reviewed by the Money Scale editorial team · How we source our data
Power mode. Every input exposed, every assumption sourced, charts and shareables.
$25,000
$80,000
10% of salary
50% match (e.g. 50% = $0.50 per $1)
Match applies to first 6% of salary
3% / year
7% expected return
0.10% expense ratio
Age 30 today
Retire at 65
Projected balance at age 65
$2,438,904
Your contributions
$483,697
Employer match
$145,109
Investment growth
$1,785,099
Monthly contribution (year 1)
$867
You + employer combined
Match value over career
$145,109
Free money — don't leave it on the table
Years to retirement
35
Age 30 → 65
- Contributions
- Growth
💼 $2,438,904 at 65
Contributing 10% of a $80,000 salary with a 50% match on the first 6% — projected to $2,438,904 by age 65.
Save this scenario
Email me my 401(k) Projection scenario
Get a one-page PDF of these numbers — your inputs, your results, and a deep link back to tweak them later. Free, no spam.
The 401(k) Projection Calculator models your career-long balance including employee contributions, employer match formulas, salary growth, expected return, and plan fees. The 2026 IRS employee contribution limit is $24,500 ($32,000 with the catch-up at 50+). Match captured matters more than rate of return for the first 5–10 years — it's the highest-return action available in personal finance, full stop.
Free, private, and no signup
Money Scale is built the opposite way from the big finance sites: the numbers you enter never leave your device, and there's nothing to sign up for.
- Your numbers stay privateEvery calculation runs in your browser. We never receive or store your salary, balances, or inputs.
- Always freeNo paywall, no upsell to a calculator that actually works.
- No login, no emailUse every tool instantly — we never gate results behind a signup.
- Sourced defaultsStarting rates and assumptions cite real data, not made-up numbers.
How this calculator works
- Enter your current 401(k) balance (use $0 if you're starting fresh).
- Enter your salary and contribution rate (% of salary). Aim for at least the match cap to capture every dollar of free money.
- Enter your employer's match formula. The most common is '50% on the first 6%' — meaning contributing 6% gets you another 3% from your employer.
- Set expected annual return (7% real is reasonable for a diversified portfolio) and plan fees (under 0.5% is normal for index-fund options).
- Enter your current age and retirement age. The chart shows your trajectory year-by-year, separating your contributions, the employer match, and investment growth.
balance_y+1 = (balance_y + employee + match) × (1 + r − fees) where match = min(employee, cap) × match_rateYear-by-year recursion. Each year: employee contributes a % of (growing) salary. Employer matches up to a cap. Total contributions earn the net return. Repeat to retirement age. The match formula caps how much free money you can capture — contribute at least the cap to get it all.
- employee
- Your contribution this year (salary × contribution rate, capped by IRS limit)
- match
- Employer match (formula-driven; common: 50% on first 6%)
- cap
- Match cap as a % of salary (employer-defined)
- match_rate
- Employer match rate (e.g., 50% means $0.50 per $1)
- r
- Expected annual return
- fees
- Plan expense ratio + advisor fees
Frequently asked questions
Related calculators
See all- Roth IRAProject tax-free Roth IRA growth across decades.
- Traditional vs Roth IRASide-by-side after-tax comparison; current vs retirement bracket.
- Investment ProjectionProject a portfolio with contributions, fees, and inflation.
- RMDRequired Minimum Distribution using current IRS table.
- Retirement BasicsSee if your savings rate gets you to 65.