Growth 401(k) Calculator with Employer Match
Your Information
Projected Results
- Total Contributions: $0
- Employer Match: $0
- Investment Growth: $0
- Final Balance (Today’s $): $0
- Final Balance (Future $): $0
- Monthly Retirement Income: $0
Growth 401(k) Calculator with Employer Match
Saving for retirement can feel overwhelming, but tools like a 401(k) growth calculator make it easier to see the long-term impact of your savings. By entering details such as your age, salary, contribution percentage, and employer match, this calculator projects how your retirement account could grow over time. It not only shows your final balance but also breaks it down into contributions, employer match, and investment growth.
Why a 401(k) Growth Calculator Matters
A 401(k) is one of the most powerful retirement savings vehicles in the United States. When you add in employer matching contributions and the power of compounding, even small, consistent savings can grow into a significant retirement fund.
Using this calculator helps you:
- Understand the impact of your own contributions.
- See how much your employer is adding on your behalf.
- Visualize how investment growth compounds over decades.
- Plan for inflation-adjusted balances, giving you a realistic picture of future income.
What You Need to Enter (Inputs Explained)
Here’s what the calculator asks for — and why each matters:
- Current Age – Sets your starting point for retirement planning.
- Retirement Age – Defines how many years your money will grow.
- Current 401(k) Balance ($) – Your existing savings that will continue compounding.
- Annual Salary ($) – Used to calculate contributions and employer match.
- Your Contribution (% of salary) – The percentage of your salary you contribute.
- Employer Match (% of contribution) – How much your employer contributes relative to your contribution.
- Employer Match Limit (% of salary) – The maximum percentage of your salary your employer will match.
- Expected Annual Return (%) – The assumed yearly growth rate of investments (before inflation).
- Expected Inflation Rate (%) – Adjusts future balances to today’s purchasing power.
The Formula Behind 401(k) Growth
The calculator uses three main components:
- Your Contributions = Salary × Contribution % × Number of Years
- Employer Match = Salary × Contribution % × Employer Match % (up to employer limit)
- Investment Growth = Compound growth on (Your Contributions + Employer Match + Current Balance)
Compound growth formula:
Where:
- FV = future value
- P = principal (your balance + contributions)
- r = annual return rate
- t = number of years until retirement
The calculator then adjusts the result using the inflation rate to give both future dollars and today’s dollars.
How the Calculator Works
- Enter your details: age, retirement age, balance, salary, contribution %, and employer match details.
- Calculate annual contributions: The tool multiplies your salary by your contribution rate.
- Add employer match: Based on your contributions and your employer’s maximum matching policy.
- Apply compound growth: Each year, both your balance and new contributions grow at the expected return rate.
- Adjust for inflation: Results are shown in both future value and today’s dollars.
- View results: You’ll see:
- Total contributions (your money)
- Employer match (free money)
- Investment growth (compounding returns)
- Final balance in today’s and future dollars
- Estimated monthly income in retirement
- Total contributions (your money)
