401(k) Future Value Calculator

For each contribution period, the employer match is the smaller of the match rate applied to your employee contribution or the match cap applied to salary for that period. A 50% match with a 6% salary cap contributes $0.50 per $1 deferred until the cap is reached.

The match is added on the same end-of-period or beginning-of-period schedule as the employee contribution. The result separates the projected future value attributable to employer contributions so the free-money component is visible.

Annual salary growth grows the employee contribution and the salary-based match cap together, so the input represents a fixed percentage-of-pay contribution schedule. The tool does not model taxes, vesting, plan-specific payroll rules, loans, fees, or separate contribution-rate changes.

The calculator flags employee deferrals above $24,500 in 2026 before an eligible catch-up contribution. The workplace-plan catch-up is up to $8,000 at age 50 or older, or up to $11,250 at ages 60-63. Employer matching is entered separately and is not counted against the employee deferral figure.

The warning is informational, not payroll advice. Verify current IRS limits, catch-up eligibility, plan document rules, and payroll implementation with authoritative plan information.

Nominal future value is the projected account balance in future dollars. Real future value converts it to current purchasing power after the inflation input.

The growth curve shows Lower, Middle, and Higher assumptions together. The yearly schedule breaks every year into opening balance, employee deposits, employer match, interest, and ending balance.

Returns are editable assumptions, not forecasts. Historical stock ranges do not determine your plan investment results.

Suppose a saver has $42,500 in an existing 401(k), earns $68,000, defers $850 each month, and receives a 50% match capped at 6% of pay. Per month, the employee puts in $850. The match would be $425 at 50%, but the salary cap limits it to $340, so total contributions are $1,190 before growth.

Enter 22 years, 3% annual salary growth, 7% annual growth, and 2.5% inflation. The projection grows the $850 deposit and the $340 match cap with pay. At monthly compounding, the middle estimate is about $1,000,074 nominal. Dividing by the inflation factor gives about $580,907 in current purchasing power, and about $271,765 of the nominal balance comes from matched employer contributions.

The salary-growth input does not promise that pay will rise by 3%. It models a steady percentage-of-pay schedule. If the employee changed from 15% to 10% of pay, both deposits and the employer match would need recalculation; this tool recalculates the match from the monthly contribution, salary, rate, and cap.

Assumptions matter more than precision in any single input. The same example projects roughly $748,136 at 5% and about $1,358,474 at 9% nominal. That spread is the useful result: it shows sensitivity to an investment mix, not a guaranteed range. Taxes, fees, job changes, vesting, loans, and plan payroll rules remain outside the projection.

Use the yearly schedule as a reconciliation aid rather than decoration. In the early years, deposits and matching carry most of the increase; by the later years, growth on a larger balance usually dominates. If a year looks surprising, check that salary growth applies to both the contribution and the match cap, that the match is $340 rather than the uncapped $425, and that the projection uses end-of-month timing. This turns a large estimate into a sequence you can inspect, explain, and revise as employment or plan rules change.