Calculate 401(k) Future Value and Retirement Income

401(k) Retirement Calculator Sign

This 401(k) Retirement Calculator will calculate how much your 401(k) will be worth by the time you reach the age you plan to retire.

The calculator includes options for factoring in annual salary increases and employer matching contributions. You can also print out printer-friendly reports for any number of what-if scenarios.

Finally, the calculated results include a year-by-year salary, contribution, and balance chart, plus a written summary.

If you want to see how your 401(k) fits within your overall retirement needs I suggest you visit the comprehensive Retirement Plan Calculator.

Save Your Raise? What a Great Idea!

What led to the creation of this calculator was the following excerpts from an email I received from a visitor to the site.

I have searched the web over for something I thought would be there but isn't. I work at a large company where we are encouraged to save our raise by upping the % we contribute to our 401K each year. With "save your raise" being such a common slogan, I would think that a calculator that helped you realize the benefits of doing that would be out there. I would love to see one. -- Trey

Of course, the first thing I realized after receiving the email is that I didn't have a 401(k) calculator on the site, much less have one with a "Save Your Raise" feature.

Well, after building the calculator and seeing for myself what a huge difference it can make to contribute all (or even a modest percentage) of your future raises to your 401(k), it's no wonder employers are encouraging their employees to save their raises.

Thank you, Trey, for taking the time to submit your valuable and enlightening request.

Read more ...

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401(k) Retirement Calculator

Calculate 401(k) future value and retirement income based on salary, rate of return, and employer match projections, plus an optional "Save Your Raise" feature.

Special Instructions

Learn More

Selected Data Record:

A Data Record is a set of calculator entries that are stored in your web browser's Local Storage. If a Data Record is currently selected in the "Data" tab, this line will list the name you gave to that data record. If no data record is selected, or you have no entries stored for this calculator, the line will display "None".

DataData recordData recordSelected data record: None

Load or Clear Sample Entries:

To load sample entries that you can change as needed, tap the "Sample" button. To clear sample entries, tap the "Clear" button.

Age now:Current age:Your current age:Your current age:

Your current age:

Enter your current age in years. Enter as an integer (no decimal points or fractions).

#
Retire age:Age to retire:Age you plan to retire at:Age you plan to retire at:

Age you plan to retire at:

Enter the age you plan to retire at. Enter as an integer (no decimal points or fractions).

#
401(k) bal:401(k) balance:Current 401(k) balance:Current 401(k) balance:

Current 401(k) balance:

Enter the current balance of your 401(k). Enter as a dollar amount but without the dollar sign and any commas. If you have yet to start your 401(k) contributions, enter a zero.

$
401(k) % rate:401(k) % return rate:401(k) rate of return percentage:401(k) rate of return percentage:

401(k) rate of return percentage:

Enter the annual rate of return you expect to earn on your 401(k). Enter as a percentage, but without the percent sign (for .07 or 7%, enter 7). When planning for the future it's always best to estimate income low and expenses high, so I suggest you enter a conservative rate.

%
Ann salary:Annual salary:Annual salary:Annual salary:

Annual salary:

Enter your current annual salary. Enter as a dollar amount but without the dollar sign and any commas. If you are not sure how much your period wages add up to over a 1-year period, tap the PCalc tab to multiply your gross wages per pay period by the number of pay periods per year.

$
Ann raise %:Annual raise %:Annual salary increase percentage:Annual salary increase percentage:

Annual salary increase percentage:

If you expect your salary to increase by a certain percentage each year, enter the percentage here. Enter as a percentage, but without the percent sign (for .03 or 3%, enter 3). Again, it's best to be conservative when it comes to forecasting future income. If you don't foresee an annual percentage increase in your salary, leave this field blank.

%
Pay freq:Pay frequency:Pay period frequency:Pay period frequency:

Pay period frequency:

Select how often you get paid. The calculator will use this frequency to add contributions to your 401(k), as well as for compounding the interest.

Contribute %:Base contribute %:Percent of salary to contribute:Percent of base salary to contribute:

Percent of base salary to contribute:

Enter the percentage of your salary you plan to contribute to your 401(k).

If you don't check the box on the next line, your contribution will increase along with your projected salary increases.

On the other hand, if you check the box on the next line (the Save Your Raise feature) and enter a percentage of raises to contribute, then your beginning base year contribution will be used for all remaining years, but each total annual contribution will be a combination of the base plus the entered percentage of the cumulative total of all raises from prior years.

In either case, if the calculated contribution exceeds the maximum allowed by the IRS (plus the catch-up amount if age 50 or older), the maximum contribution will be used instead (current maximum and catch-up amounts are listed on the Learn tab).

%

Percent of raises to contribute:

If you would like to contribute all or a percentage of all future raises, check the box in this row. Once a checkmark appears on this line, the percentage field will be enabled. If you want to contribute 100% of all raises, enter 100. Otherwise enter your preferred percentage, but without the percent sign.

Note that if the calculated contribution exceeds the maximum allowed by the IRS (plus the catch-up amount if age 50 or older), the maximum contribution will be used instead (current maximum and catch-up amounts are listed on the Learn tab).

%
Co. match %:Employer match %:Employer match percentage:Employer match percentage:

Employer match percentage:

If your employer will be matching all or part of your contributions, enter the percentage on this line. Enter as a percentage, but without the percent sign.

The actual employer match will depend on whether or not the matching amount exceeds the percentage of your salary as indicated on the next line. If the calculated amount exceeds the maximum percentage of your salary, then the maximum amount will be used instead of the calculated amount.

%
Max match %:Maximum match %:Maximum percent of salary:Maximum percentage of salary:

Maximum percentage of salary:

Enter the percentage the employer uses to limit the matching contributions -- expressed as a percentage of your annual salary. Enter as a percentage, but without the percent sign.

%
Years:Year till retire:Years until retirement:Number of years until retirement:

Number of years until retirement:

This is the number of years between your current age and the age you plan to retire at.

End bal:End balance:Ending 401(k) balance:401(k) balance at retirement age:

401(k) balance at retirement age:

Based on your entries, this is how much your 401(k) will have grown to by the time you retire. Note that this amount is subject to income taxes as portions are withdrawn.

Tot contrib:Total contributed:Total of your contributions:Total of your contributions:

Total of your contributions:

Based your entries, this will be the total of your contributions to your 401(k) between now and when you retire.

Tot match:Total matched:Total employer matching contributions:Total employer matching contributions:

Total employer matching contributions:

Based your entries, this will be the total of the contributions made by your employer between now and when you retire.

Int earned:Interest earned:Total interest earnings:Total interest earnings:

Total interest earnings:

Based your entries, this will be the total of your interest earnings your 401(k) between now and when you retire.

Ann income:Annual income:Before-tax annual retirement income:Before-tax annual retirement income:

Before-tax annual retirement income:

Based your entries, this is your estimated, before-tax annual retirement income from your 401(k).

If you would like to save the current entries to the secure online database, tap or click on the Data tab, select "New Data Record", give the data record a name, then tap or click the Save button. To save changes to previously saved entries, simply tap the Save button. Please select and "Clear" any data records you no longer need.

Help and Tools

Learn

What a 401(k) is, how it works, and what the contribution limits are.

What is a 401k?

A 401k is a tax-deferred, retirement savings plan that is sponsored by an employer.

In other words, as long as you don't withdraw the funds until age 59-1/2, you pay no income taxes on the portion of your salary you contribute to your 401k, nor on the interest earned, until you withdraw the funds.

One of the reasons 401k's are popular with employees is because in many cases employers offer to match all or part of their employees' contributions -- usually up to a certain percentage of their annual salary. However, in most cases, you will need to work for your employer a minimum number of years before you become the actual owner of the matching contributions (also known as becoming "fully vested").

How Does a 401k Work?

While there are multiple variations and exceptions, a 401k typically works like this:

  1. You choose where you want the funds invested (usually from a selection offered by your 401k plan).
  2. You designate an amount or percentage of your wages to contribute to your 401k.
  3. Your employer withholds your contributions from your gross wages (before taxes are taken out) and deposits the contribution -- along with any employer match -- into your 401k.
  4. Earnings on your 401k grow on a tax-deferred basis.
  5. Once you reach age 59-1/2 (or age 55 if you officially retire), you can begin making withdrawals from your 401k without penalty. Before that, you may be assessed a 10% early withdrawal penalty. In either case, your withdrawals will be subject to income taxes.

Contribution Limits

Lastly, the tax implications created by 401k plans can be very complex, so please be sure to consult with a qualified tax professional before making any decisions related to your plan.

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Adjust Calculator Width:

Move the slider to left and right to adjust the calculator width. Note that the Help and Tools panel will be hidden when the calculator is too wide to fit both on the screen. Moving the slider to the left will bring the instructions and tools panel back into view.

Also note that some calculators will reformat to accommodate the screen size as you make the calculator wider or narrower. If the calculator is narrow, columns of entry rows will be converted to a vertical entry form, whereas a wider calculator will display columns of entry rows, and the entry fields will be smaller in size ... since they will not need to be "thumb friendly".

Show/Hide Popup Keypads:

Select Show or Hide to show or hide the popup keypad icons located next to numeric entry fields. These are generally only needed for mobile devices that don't have decimal points in their numeric keypads. So if you are on a desktop, you may find the calculator to be more user-friendly and less cluttered without them.

Stick/Unstick Tools:

Select Stick or Unstick to stick or unstick the help and tools panel. Selecting "Stick" will keep the panel in view while scrolling the calculator vertically. If you find that annoying, select "Unstick" to keep the panel in a stationary position.

If the tools panel becomes "Unstuck" on its own, try clicking "Unstick" and then "Stick" to re-stick the panel.