{
    "name": "401(k) Calculator",
    "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/401k-calculator",
    "markdown": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/401k-calculator.md",
    "category": "Finance",
    "description": "Project your 401(k) balance at retirement from your salary, contribution rate, employer match and return, capped at the 2026 IRS deferral limits.",
    "summary": "Your 401(k) grows from your own payroll deferrals, your employer’s match and investment returns. Deferrals are capped at the IRS limits for 2026, including catch-up contributions from age 50.",
    "also_called": [
        "401(k) match calculator"
    ],
    "applies_to": "United States",
    "last_updated": "2026-10-29",
    "computation": "Results are computed in the visitor’s browser on the HTML page. This API describes the calculator; it does not compute results.",
    "inputs": [
        {
            "name": "age",
            "label": "Current age",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "30",
            "unit": "years"
        },
        {
            "name": "retire_age",
            "label": "Retirement age",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "65",
            "unit": "years"
        },
        {
            "name": "salary",
            "label": "Annual salary",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "60000"
        },
        {
            "name": "salary_growth",
            "label": "Expected pay rise",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "2",
            "unit": "% a year",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "contribution",
            "label": "Your contribution",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "6",
            "unit": "% of salary"
        },
        {
            "name": "match",
            "label": "Employer match",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "50",
            "unit": "% of your contribution",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "match_limit",
            "label": "… on contributions up to",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "6",
            "unit": "% of salary",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "balance",
            "label": "Current 401(k) balance",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "10000",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "return",
            "label": "Expected return",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "6",
            "unit": "% a year"
        },
        {
            "name": "inflation",
            "label": "Inflation",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "2.5",
            "unit": "% a year",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "currency",
            "label": "Currency",
            "type": "currency",
            "default": "USD"
        }
    ],
    "outputs": [
        {
            "key": "balance",
            "label": "Balance at retirement",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "employee_total",
            "label": "Your contributions",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "employer_total",
            "label": "Employer contributions",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "growth",
            "label": "Investment growth",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "real_balance",
            "label": "Balance in today’s money",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "first_year_employee",
            "label": "You contribute this year",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "first_year_employer",
            "label": "Employer adds this year",
            "format": "currency"
        }
    ],
    "formula": {
        "text": "Each year: Yours = min(Contribution% × Salary, IRS limit for your age);  Match = Match% × min(Yours, Match limit% × Salary);  Balance = Balance × (1 + Return) + Yours + Match;  Salary rises by the pay-rise rate",
        "variables": {
            "IRS limit": "$24,500 in 2026; $32,500 from age 50; $35,750 at ages 60–63",
            "Match%": "share of your deferral your employer adds",
            "Match limit%": "the salary percentage the match applies to"
        }
    },
    "worked_example": {
        "inputs": {
            "age": "30",
            "retire_age": "65",
            "salary": "60000",
            "salary_growth": "2",
            "contribution": "6",
            "match": "50",
            "match_limit": "6",
            "balance": "10000",
            "return": "6",
            "inflation": "2.5",
            "currency": "USD"
        },
        "steps": [
            "Year 1: you defer 6% × 60,000 = $3,600 (below the $24,500 limit); the employer adds 50% × 3,600 = $1,800.",
            "Each year the salary rises 2%, so contributions rise too; the balance earns 6%.",
            "After 35 years: $179,980.12 from you, $89,990.06 from your employer and growth bring the balance to $844,497.50."
        ],
        "result": "Deferring 6% with a 50% match on a $60,000 salary could grow to about $844,500 by age 65 at a 6% return."
    },
    "interpretation": "Contribute at least enough to get the full employer match: it is an immediate return on your money. The today’s-money figure shows the balance in current purchasing power.",
    "assumptions": [
        "Contributions go in at the end of each year and the return is constant.",
        "Elective deferrals are capped at the 2026 IRS limits for every projected year (the limits usually rise with inflation, so this is cautious for high savers).",
        "The age-based catch-up uses your age in each projected year; the employer match is not separately capped."
    ],
    "limitations": [
        "The overall annual-additions limit, vesting schedules, plan fees and taxes on withdrawals are not modelled.",
        "Roth versus pre-tax treatment does not change the balance shown here, only the tax due later."
    ],
    "rules": {
        "jurisdiction": "United States",
        "effective_from": "2026-01-01",
        "authority": "Internal Revenue Service",
        "checked": "2026-10-29",
        "review_after": "2026-11-30"
    },
    "faqs": [
        {
            "question": "What are the 401(k) limits for 2026?",
            "answer": "The IRS set the elective-deferral limit at $24,500 for 2026. Savers aged 50 or over can add an $8,000 catch-up, and those aged 60 to 63 can add $11,250 instead."
        },
        {
            "question": "Does the employer match count towards my $24,500 limit?",
            "answer": "No. The elective-deferral limit applies to your own contributions; employer contributions fall under a separate, higher overall limit."
        }
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "title": "IRS: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026 (IR-2025-111)",
            "url": "https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500"
        }
    ],
    "related": [
        {
            "name": "Retirement Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/retirement-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Investment Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/investment-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Compound Interest Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/compound-interest-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Salary Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/salary-calculator"
        }
    ],
    "disclaimer": "Returns are illustrations at a constant rate, not predictions or guarantees. Investments can lose value. This is not investment advice.",
    "publisher": "GM¹X CalcVerse"
}