Match is not free money until it vests
A 50% match on 6% of pay is a common pattern and still depends on plan documents. Unvested match can leave with a job change. This engine does not vest.
Your numbers
401(k) projection
Employee deferrals plus a simple employer match, grown at an assumed return.$
years oldSets the catch-up limit that applies each year
How often deferrals go in
$
% of salary
Match, horizon and growth assumptions
Planning figures, not a forecast. The match fields come off your plan document.
%
% of salaryPercent of salary
years
%
% / year
Projected balance
$981,244Under these contribution and return assumptionsEmployee contributions$194,727
Employer match$97,363
Modeled growth$679,154
Each paycheck$276.93$184.62 you + $92.31 employer
How we got this
- Contribution each paycheck$184.62 you + $92.31 employer, 26 times a year$276.92
- First-year employee deferral6% of salary$4,800
- First-year employer match50% of deferrals up to 6% of salary$2,400
- Projected balance30 years at 7% assumed return$981,244
What we assumed
- Under these assumptions only. This is not tax, plan, or investment advice.
- Contributions go in every pay period (every two weeks, 26 a year) and land on payday and earn the assumed return from then on, which is how payroll deferrals actually work. The return you type is applied as a nominal annual rate compounded each pay period.
- Employer match is a simple rate on employee deferrals, capped at a percent of salary. Plans differ, and vesting is not modeled.
- IRS tax year 2026 limits are applied: $24,500 elective deferral, $8,000 catch-up at 50+, $11,250 at ages 60 to 63, and a $72,000 annual-additions limit. Official copy: irs-retirement-limits-2026-v1.
- Those limits are held flat for the whole projection. Congress indexes them for inflation, so later years are understated rather than guessed at.
- Beginning in 2026, catch-up contributions for employees whose prior-year FICA wages exceeded $150,000 must be Roth. That changes the tax treatment, not the amount projected here.
Technical details
Method 401k-v1.0.0Data irs-retirement-limits-2026-v1
Guide
Employee deferrals plus a simple employer match
The page grows your contribution and a simplified match at an assumed return. Catch-up contributions, after-tax mega backdoors, vesting, and loans are not modeled. The match formula is only as complete as the fields you fill.
Match, limits, and a job change
Type the match the plan actually uses. A common classroom example is 50% of the first 6% of pay; your document may differ, and this engine will not read the SPD. IRS employee deferral and catch-up limits change by year and age. Check the official cap for the year you mean. The page will not stop a contribution that exceeds it.
Unvested match can leave with a job change. The projection assumes you stay and that the return you typed is constant. Neither is a forecast.
Questions about this calculator
Does this use 2026 IRS 401(k) limits?
You type the contribution. The page does not stop you at the IRS cap. Check the limit for your age and year before you treat a large deferral as legal.
Traditional or Roth 401(k)?
Growth math can look similar; tax treatment does not. This page does not compute the tax difference. Salary-after-tax is the place to see current take-home if you change a deferral.
Terms used here
- Deferral
- The employee contribution. Traditional deferrals are pretax; Roth 401(k) deferrals are after-tax. The engine grows the amount you type.
- Employer match
- A simplified additional contribution based on what you entered, not a full plan document.
- Vesting
- When match becomes yours. Not modeled.
Practical tips
- If the goal is to capture the full match, compute that percentage of pay first, then type it.
- A job change resets match and vesting; the projection assumes you stay.
Limits and caveats
- Not investment or tax advice. Catch-up and highly compensated employee tests are omitted.
Results are for information. They are not legal, tax, medical, or financial advice. How the math is maintained · Report a wrong figure.
Engine notes
Rounding, versioning, and omissions that sit beside the guide rather than repeating it.
- Each year. Employee deferral is salary × contribution percent. Employer match is the match rate on deferrals, capped at a percent of salary. The assumed return then grows the balance before the next year.
- Salary growth. If you enter a salary-growth percent, next year’s salary is last year’s times (1 + growth). The return is still an assumption, not a market path.
- IRS limits and catch-up caps. Tax year 2026 elective deferral limit is $24,500. For employees age 50 and older, the catch-up limit increases allowable deferrals by $8,000 (or $11,250 for ages 60 through 63 under SECURE 2.0). The combined defined-contribution limit is $72,000. The calculation engine applies these limits to cap annual deferrals based on your age. High-wage mandatory Roth catch-up (prior-year FICA wages above $150,000) and plan-specific vesting are not modeled.