Retirement & 401(k) Calculator

See exactly how your 401(k) grows — and whether you're on track to retire. Includes employer contributions, returns, and inflation adjustments.

🔒 No sign-up 📈 Growth projections 💼 Match limit calculation
(e.g., 50% or 100% match)
(e.g., up to 6% of salary)
🎉 Employer adds $9/mo!
Projected Balance$1,031,798at retirement
Today's Dollars$366,684inflation-adjusted
Monthly Income$1,2224% withdrawal rule

📈 Portfolio Growth Over Time

Frequently Asked Questions

A general guideline (like Fidelity's) suggests having 1x your salary saved by age 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, and 10x by age 67. Individual needs vary based on your planned lifestyle, retirement age, and other income sources like pensions.
For 2026, the 401(k) contribution limit is $23,500 for those under age 50. Individuals aged 50 and older can make an additional catch-up contribution of up to $7,500, bringing their total maximum contribution limit to $31,000.
Employer matching is an additional contribution made by your employer based on what you save. For example, a 50% match on up to 6% of your salary means that if you contribute 6% of your gross pay, your employer will add another 3%. This is essentially free money and should be fully captured first.
The 4% rule is a guideline suggesting retirees can safely withdraw 4% of their portfolio's value in the first year of retirement, and adjust that dollar amount for inflation each year after, with a high probability of not running out of money over a 30-year span.
A common target is to replace 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement annual income using a combination of personal savings, 401(k) investments, and Social Security. Using the 4% rule, if you need $80,000 annually from your portfolio, you would need a nest egg of approximately $2 million.
Traditional 401(k) contributions are made with pre-tax dollars, lowering your current taxable income, but withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. Roth 401(k) contributions are made with post-tax dollars, providing no immediate tax break, but all qualified withdrawals in retirement are completely tax-free.
Compound interest is interest earned on interest. As your investments earn returns, those gains are reinvested to generate their own returns. Over decades, this exponential compounding effect builds the majority of your retirement nest egg, making early saving highly impactful.
Yes. The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement emphasizes extreme savings rates (often 50% to 70% of income) and low-cost index fund investing. By living frugally, individuals aim to build a nest egg that can support them early in life using low withdrawal rates.
You can start taking reduced benefits at age 62, wait until your Full Retirement Age (FRA, typically 67) for full benefits, or delay until age 70 to maximize monthly payouts. Waiting increases your monthly benefit by roughly 8% for each year delayed past FRA.
For long-term projection, a historical average rate of return of 7% to 9% is standard for an equity-focused portfolio. When adjusting for inflation, using a conservative real return of 5% to 6% is recommended to plan your future purchasing power.
Inflation erodes the purchasing power of your money over time. At a standard 3% annual inflation rate, prices double roughly every 24 years. This calculator provides an option to view your future balance in 'today's dollars' to show your real purchasing power.
When you change jobs, you have four main options: leave the money in your former employer's 401(k) plan, roll it over into your new employer's plan, roll it over into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or cash it out (subject to income taxes and a 10% penalty if under age 59½).

How to Plan Your Retirement Savings

Preparing for your post-work years is one of the most critical financial journeys you will undertake. A comprehensive retirement calculator can help demystify the numbers, showing you how today's contributions translate into future financial stability. By analyzing your current age, target retirement age, savings rate, and expected returns, a retirement savings calculator provides a visual roadmap to help you secure a comfortable future.

Maximizing Your 401(k) and Capture the Match

For most employees, a workplace retirement plan is the primary vehicle for building wealth. A 401k retirement calculator is an invaluable tool for understanding how limits and matching impact your growth. In 2026, the 401(k) contribution limit stands at $23,500 for those under age 50, and $31,000 for workers 50 or older, including catch-up contributions.

Before adjusting your savings rate, always calculate your employer match. A 401k employer match calculator illustrates that this match is free compensation. For example, if your company offers a dollar-for-dollar match up to 4% of your salary, contributing at least that 4% should be your absolute baseline savings target.

The Magic of Compound Interest

The secret to building a substantial nest egg is time, not just income. A compound interest retirement calculator demonstrates how earnings generate their own earnings over decades. Using a 401k growth calculator, you can answer the common question: "how much will my 401k grow?" If you start saving $500 monthly at age 25, assuming a 7% average return, you could accumulate over $1.2 million by age 65. If you wait until age 35 to start, that same monthly savings will yield only about $560,000. Time is your greatest asset in retirement planning calculator strategies.

Determining "How Much Do I Need to Retire?"

A central question for any worker is: "how much do I need to retire?" To estimate your target retirement nest egg calculator balance, financial planners often apply the 80% replacement rule, which assumes you need to replace roughly 80% of your pre-retirement salary.

To convert this nest egg into steady cash flow, retirees use a 4 percent rule calculator. This framework assumes that withdrawing 4% of your portfolio's value in the first year of retirement, and adjusting subsequent withdrawals for inflation, gives your portfolio a very high probability of lasting 30 years. Using this retirement income calculator, a $1.5 million nest egg translates to a safe annual withdrawal of $60,000.

Alternative Plans and Supplementing Income

For those pursuing financial independence and early retirement (FIRE), an early retirement calculator can project whether aggressive savings rates (often 50% or more) can support a multi-decade retirement.

Additionally, you should combine your personal portfolio with other income streams. Using a retirement calculator with social security allows you to layer on government retirement benefits (the average benefit is around $1,900 in 2026) to see your complete retirement picture. Whether you are using a workplace 401(k), an IRA calculator, or a standard 401k calculator, planning early with a retirement calculator 2026 edition will help you design a sustainable financial future.

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Calculators are for informational purposes only. Not financial, tax, or medical advice.