Free 401k calculator with employer match, salary growth, 2026 contribution limits, and a built-in Roth vs Traditional 401(k) comparison. See what your retirement balance could actually look like.
Educational tool, not financial advice. SavingsClub is not a licensed financial advisor.
Historical S&P 500 average is about 7 to 10% after inflation. A conservative target is 6 to 7%.
Tax brackets are used for the Roth vs Traditional 401(k) comparison below. Most retirees drop one bracket due to lower income in retirement.
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement account that lets you contribute pre-tax dollars (Traditional) or after-tax dollars (Roth 401(k)) from each paycheck. Many employers match a percentage of your contributions, which is essentially free money added to your retirement savings.
This 401k calculator projects your future balance based on five core inputs: your salary, contribution percentage, employer match terms, current balance, and expected investment return. It also factors in salary growth over time and compounds returns monthly for accuracy. The year-by-year breakdown shows exactly how your money grows from contributions, employer match, and investment returns separately.
The minimum smart contribution is whatever percentage captures your full employer match. If your employer matches 100% up to 4% of salary, contributing 4% gets you an instant 100% return on that money. Anything less is leaving guaranteed money behind.
Beyond the match, a common target is 15% of gross income for retirement (combining your contributions and your employer's). If you started saving late, you may need 20% or more to catch up. Workers who maximize their 401(k) plus contribute to a Roth IRA on the side build wealth significantly faster than those who only do the match.
The 2026 IRS 401k max contribution is $24,500 for workers under age 50. Workers 50 and older can add an $8,000 catch-up contribution (total $32,500), and workers age 60 to 63 get a higher catch-up of $11,250 (total $35,750) under the SECURE 2.0 rules. Employer matching contributions are separate from these limits. You can verify current contribution limits directly at the IRS website.
If you are wondering how much is in the typical American's 401(k), the most authoritative data comes from Vanguard's How America Saves report, which tracks nearly 5 million retirement plan participants. The latest full breakdown (year-end 2024 data) shows both the average and the median balance for each age group:
| Age group | Average balance | Median balance |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | $6,899 | $1,948 |
| 25 to 34 | $42,640 | $16,255 |
| 35 to 44 | $103,552 | $39,958 |
| 45 to 54 | $188,643 | $67,796 |
| 55 to 64 | $271,320 | $95,642 |
| 65 and older | $299,442 | $95,425 |
Source: Vanguard, How America Saves 2025 (year-end 2024 data). Figures reflect balances held in Vanguard-administered plans only.
Notice the gap between average and median in every age group. The average is pulled up by a small number of very large accounts, so the median is a better picture of the typical saver. Across all ages, the average balance was $148,153 while the median was just $38,176. If your balance is above the median for your age group, you are ahead of most of your peers, even if the average makes you feel behind.
One more thing these numbers hide: they only count one account. Workers who change jobs often leave old 401(k)s behind, so total retirement savings for many households is higher than any single plan balance shows. Use our Net Worth Calculator to add up everything in one place.
A quick way to estimate your target: take the annual income you want your savings to produce and multiply it by 25. This is the same math as the 4% rule, just run in reverse. Some rough targets:
| Desired annual income from savings | Approximate 401(k) target (25x) |
|---|---|
| $30,000 | $750,000 |
| $40,000 | $1,000,000 |
| $60,000 | $1,500,000 |
| $80,000 | $2,000,000 |
These targets look intimidating, but two things soften them. First, Social Security replaces a meaningful slice of income for most retirees, so your savings usually do not need to fund everything. Second, time does most of the heavy lifting: run the calculator above and watch how much of the final balance comes from investment growth rather than your own contributions. That is why starting now beats starting bigger later. Our Retirement Calculator models the full picture, including how long your money lasts after you stop working.
The Roth vs Traditional 401(k) decision comes down to one question: do you expect to be in a higher or lower tax bracket in retirement?
Traditional 401(k): Contributions are pre-tax. They reduce your taxable income today, so you pay less tax now. Withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. Traditional wins if you expect a lower tax bracket in retirement (which is true for most retirees).
Roth 401(k): Contributions are post-tax. You pay full income tax now, but your withdrawals in retirement (including all the growth) come out tax-free. Roth wins if you expect a higher tax bracket in retirement, which is common for younger workers in lower brackets today who expect higher income later.
For a deeper dive into this exact decision, including the 50/50 split option and the 2026 mandatory Roth catch-up rule for high earners, use our dedicated Roth 401(k) Calculator. The WINNER comparison above runs your specific numbers and shows the dollar difference between the two strategies. The calculator uses your current and retirement tax brackets to compute after-tax retirement value for each option. Adjust the tax bracket inputs to see how the answer changes.
Employer matching is the single highest-return investment most workers will ever make. A 100% match means every dollar you contribute is matched dollar-for-dollar by your employer, up to a cap. That is an immediate 100% return on the matched portion of your contribution. No investment in the world beats that.
The tool above doubles as a 401(k) match calculator: enter your employer's match cap and match type, and the results break out exactly how many employer dollars flow into your account each year and what they compound into by retirement. According to Vanguard, the average employer match is 4.6% of pay and the median is 4%, so if your plan matches less than that, you are below the national norm.
The most common match structures are: 100% match up to 3 to 6% of salary (full match), or 50% match up to 6 to 8% of salary (partial match). On a $65,000 salary with a 100% match up to 4%, your employer adds $2,600 per year to your account at no cost to you. Over 30 years at 7% return, that match alone grows to roughly $250,000.
If your contribution percentage is below your match cap, this calculator will warn you and show exactly how much money you are leaving on the table per year. Increasing your contribution to the cap is almost always the right financial move, with very few exceptions.
The averages above tell you what people actually have. Benchmarks tell you what you might aim for. Fidelity publishes commonly cited retirement savings targets based on salary multiples by age:
For a worker earning $75,000 per year, those benchmarks translate to $75K by 30, $225K by 40, $450K by 50, $600K by 60, and $750K by 67. These are rough guidelines, not requirements. Your actual target depends on retirement age, lifestyle, Social Security, and other income sources. Compare the benchmark for your age against the median balances in the table above and you will see that most Americans are behind, which is exactly why capturing the full match and increasing contributions with every raise matter so much.
The 4% rule is a widely-used retirement income guideline: in your first year of retirement, you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio balance. In each following year, you adjust that dollar amount for inflation. The portfolio is designed to last about 30 years using this strategy with a balanced stock and bond mix.
A $1 million balance using the 4% rule gives you approximately $40,000 per year of pre-tax retirement income (about $3,333 per month). A $500K balance gives you about $20,000 per year. The annual income figure shown above your stats grid uses this 4% rule applied to your projected 401(k) balance.
The 4% rule has critics. Some financial educators argue 3.3 to 3.5% is safer for longer retirements. Others argue 5%+ is fine if you remain flexible. It is a starting point for thinking about retirement income, not a precise formula. Always consult a licensed financial advisor for personalized planning.
Not contributing enough for the full match. Already covered above. This is the most common and most expensive mistake.
Cashing out when changing jobs. A 401(k) cash-out before age 59 1/2 triggers federal income tax plus a 10% penalty. You can lose 30 to 40% of the balance instantly. Roll it into an IRA or your new employer's 401(k) instead.
Picking the default investment without checking fees. Many 401(k) plans default new participants into a target-date fund. These can be fine, but expense ratios vary widely. A fund charging 0.10% costs you about 1/10th of one charging 1.00% over a 30-year career. Check your plan's investment options for low-cost index funds.
Taking a 401(k) loan to fund lifestyle. Loans against your 401(k) feel cheap because you pay interest to yourself. But the borrowed money stops growing, you lose compound returns, and if you leave the job, the loan often becomes due immediately or converts to a taxable withdrawal. Use only for genuine emergencies, never to cover regular expenses.
Forgetting accounts at old jobs. The average American worker holds a dozen jobs in their career. Old 401(k) accounts get lost, plan administrators change, and statements stop arriving. Consolidate old accounts into a single IRA so you can manage and track them in one place. The U.S. Department of Labor has a free service to help find lost retirement accounts.
At minimum, contribute enough to capture your full employer match. That is free money. Beyond that, a common target is 15% of gross income (including employer contributions). The 2026 contribution limit is $24,500 ($32,500 if age 50 or older, $35,750 if age 60 to 63).
According to Vanguard's How America Saves 2025 report (year-end 2024 data), average balances are roughly $6,899 under age 25, $42,640 for ages 25 to 34, $103,552 for ages 35 to 44, $188,643 for ages 45 to 54, $271,320 for ages 55 to 64, and $299,442 for 65 and older. Median balances are far lower in every group because a small number of large accounts pull the average up.
A Traditional 401(k) reduces your taxable income now but withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. A Roth 401(k) is funded with after-tax dollars but withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. Roth tends to win for younger workers who expect higher tax brackets later. Traditional tends to win for workers in high brackets now who expect lower retirement income.
Fidelity's commonly cited benchmarks: 1x salary by age 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, 10x by 67. These are rough guidelines, not requirements. Your actual target depends on retirement age, expected lifestyle, and other income sources like Social Security.
Yes, in most cases. A 401(k) and a Roth IRA have separate annual limits and are not affected by each other. For 2026, you can contribute up to $24,500 to a 401(k) plus up to $7,500 to a Roth IRA ($8,600 if 50 or older), subject to Roth IRA income limits. Use our Roth IRA Calculator to project the Roth side.
The 2026 employee 401(k) contribution limit is $24,500. Workers age 50 and older can make an additional $8,000 catch-up contribution, for a total of $32,500. Workers age 60 to 63 get a higher catch-up of $11,250, for a total of $35,750. Employer matching contributions are separate from this limit. Always verify current limits with the IRS.