401(k) Contribution Calculator

How Employer Matching Actually Works

A match has two numbers: the rate and the ceiling. "50% up to 6%" means your employer pays 50 cents per dollar, but only on the first 6% of pay you defer.

• 50% up to 6%: costs you 6% to earn a 3% bonus
• 100% up to 4%: costs you 4% to earn a 4% bonus
• Tiered: 100% on the first 3%, then 50% on the next 2%
• True-up: some plans reconcile at year end, so front-loading contributions does not cost you match. Plans without a true-up match per pay period only

Two Separate Contribution Limits

The elective deferral limit caps what you can put in from your own salary. A second, much larger limit caps everything added to your account in a year, including the employer match and any profit sharing.

• Only your own deferrals count toward the limit in the input above
• A catch-up allowance lets workers 50 and over defer more
• Both limits are indexed and usually rise each year
• If you switch jobs mid-year, the deferral limit is per person, not per plan, so add up both employers

Vesting: The Match Is Not Yours Yet

Money you defer from your own pay is always 100% yours immediately. The employer match often is not.

• Cliff vesting: nothing until a service date, then 100% at once
• Graded vesting: ownership builds in steps over several years
• Leaving before you vest forfeits the unvested match, so check your schedule before resigning near a vesting date
• This calculator projects the gross match, not the vested portion

What This Projection Does Not Show

• Tax: traditional 401(k) balances are taxed as ordinary income on withdrawal, so the headline number is pre-tax. A Roth 401(k) is funded with taxed dollars and withdrawn tax free
• Fees: a 0.5% expense ratio can consume a tenth of a long-run balance
• Inflation: results are future dollars. Subtract your inflation assumption from the return to see today's buying power
• Volatility: real returns arrive unevenly, not as a smooth annual rate