Retirement Planning

401(k) Calculator

Project your 401(k) growth with employer match, then simulate retirement withdrawals over time.

Settings

Scenario

Mode

Personal Info

Contributions

Growth Projection

$1,813,632

Projected balance at age 65: $1,813,632

Initial $85,000
Employee $285,000
Match $85,500
Growth $1,358,132

Employee

$285,000

Match

$85,500

Growth

$1,358,132

Years

30

Year-by-Year Projection

30 years from age 36 to 65

AgeStartEmployeeEmployerGrowthEnd
36$85,000$9,500$2,850$5,950$103,300
37$103,300$9,500$2,850$7,231$122,881
38$122,881$9,500$2,850$8,602$143,833
39$143,833$9,500$2,850$10,068$166,251
40$166,251$9,500$2,850$11,638$190,239
41$190,239$9,500$2,850$13,317$215,905
42$215,905$9,500$2,850$15,113$243,369
43$243,369$9,500$2,850$17,036$272,754
44$272,754$9,500$2,850$19,093$304,197
45$304,197$9,500$2,850$21,294$337,841
46$337,841$9,500$2,850$23,649$373,840
47$373,840$9,500$2,850$26,169$412,359
48$412,359$9,500$2,850$28,865$453,574
49$453,574$9,500$2,850$31,750$497,674
50$497,674$9,500$2,850$34,837$544,861
51$544,861$9,500$2,850$38,140$595,351
52$595,351$9,500$2,850$41,675$649,376
53$649,376$9,500$2,850$45,456$707,182
54$707,182$9,500$2,850$49,503$769,035
55$769,035$9,500$2,850$53,832$835,218
56$835,218$9,500$2,850$58,465$906,033
57$906,033$9,500$2,850$63,422$981,805
58$981,805$9,500$2,850$68,726$1,062,881
59$1,062,881$9,500$2,850$74,402$1,149,633
60$1,149,633$9,500$2,850$80,474$1,242,457
61$1,242,457$9,500$2,850$86,972$1,341,779
62$1,341,779$9,500$2,850$93,925$1,448,054
63$1,448,054$9,500$2,850$101,364$1,561,768
64$1,561,768$9,500$2,850$109,324$1,683,441
65$1,683,441$9,500$2,850$117,841$1,813,632

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Disclosure

Estimate only, not tax or investment advice. The calculator does not model taxes, penalties, required minimum distributions, or plan-specific rules.

Early withdrawal

401(k) Early Withdrawal: the 10% Penalty and Tax

Withdrawing from a 401(k) before age 59½ usually triggers an additional 10% early-withdrawal penalty on top of ordinary income tax on the amount withdrawn. This section explains how the penalty and tax work and when exceptions may apply.

The 10% early-withdrawal penalty

The IRS imposes an additional 10% tax on most distributions taken before age 59½, unless an exception applies. The penalty applies to the amount distributed — both your contributions and the earnings on them — and is paid in addition to any income tax due.

Income tax on the distribution

A traditional 401(k) distribution is taxable as ordinary income in the year you receive it. Your marginal tax bracket determines the rate, so a $10,000 withdrawal could be reduced by income tax plus the 10% penalty before you see the cash.

Example: a $10,000 early withdrawal

With a 22% federal marginal rate, a $10,000 early withdrawal loses $2,200 to income tax and $1,000 to the early-withdrawal penalty, leaving about $6,800 — before any state tax.

Exceptions to the 10% penalty

Exceptions include unreimbursed medical expenses, disability, a qualified first-time home purchase (up to $10,000), substantially equal periodic payments (72(t)), certain military reservist distributions, and separation from service at age 55 or later.

State taxes

Most states also tax the distribution, and a few add their own early-withdrawal penalty. Check your state's rules for the full picture.

Before taking an early 401(k) withdrawal, estimate the combined tax and penalty impact — the calculator above shows your balance, but the actual cash you receive will be lower.

FAQ

About this calculator

Method, formulas, and limits.

What this does

Projects the future value of your 401(k) account by compounding your current balance, adding annual employee contributions, and applying any employer match at your expected rate of return. A separate withdrawal mode estimates how long your savings could last in retirement with annual distributions.

Who it is for

Employees contributing to a 401(k), especially people with an employer match. It is also useful for anyone planning retirement withdrawals, comparing contribution rates, or testing how much balance they need to reach a target retirement age.

How it works

In growth mode, the calculator starts with the opening balance, applies one annual return, adds your employee contribution, and then adds the employer match if enabled. The match uses your contribution percent up to the salary cap percent, then multiplies that eligible slice by the match percent. In withdrawal mode, the calculator starts with your retirement balance, applies annual growth, subtracts the planned withdrawal, and repeats until age 100 or depletion.

Limitations

Does not model taxes, early withdrawal penalties, required minimum distributions (RMDs), contribution limits, vesting schedules, fees, raises, or changing contribution rates. Market returns are assumed constant each year, which never happens in reality.

Key calculations

Future Value with Match
Each year the account grows by the return, then contributions and match are added. balance = prevBalance × (1 + return) + employeeContribution + employerMatch
Employer Match
The match applies to a capped percentage of salary. matchAmount = min(employeeContribution, salary × matchCap%) × matchRate%. Any contribution above the cap is not matched.
Withdrawal Projection
Each year the balance grows, then the withdrawal is subtracted. balance = prevBalance × (1 + return) − withdrawalAmount. Repeats until age 100 or depletion.
Employee Contribution
Based on your salary and contribution percentage. employeeContribution = salary × contributionPercent / 100

Reference ranges

Return Rate
Historical S&P 500 average return is about 10% nominal (7% real). Conservative assumptions use 5–6%. Aggressive assumptions go above 10%. The return rate is the single most impactful variable over long horizons.
Contribution Rate
Most financial advisors recommend contributing 10–15% of salary including the employer match. The IRS 401(k) contribution limit for 2025 is $23,500 ($31,000 including catch-up for age 50+).
Employer Match
A common match is 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary (3% of salary total). Some plans offer 100% up to 4–6%. The match is essentially free money toward retirement.
Withdrawal Rate
The 4% rule is the traditional safe withdrawal rate for a 30-year retirement. Lower rates (3–3.5%) provide more safety for longer retirements. Higher rates increase the risk of depletion.

How to use it

  1. 1.Choose growth or withdrawal modeGrowth mode projects your balance from today to retirement. Withdrawal mode simulates how long your savings last once you start taking distributions.
  2. 2.Enter your current detailsInput your current age, current 401(k) balance, annual salary, and expected annual return rate.
  3. 3.Set your contribution rateEnter the percentage of your salary you contribute each year. The calculator applies this to your annual salary.
  4. 4.Configure employer matchToggle the employer match on and enter your plan's match percent and salary cap percent. The match is calculated using the standard plan formula.
  5. 5.Review growth projectionsThe calculator shows a year-by-year table of your projected balance, contributions, match, and earnings out to age 100.
  6. 6.Test withdrawal scenariosSwitch to withdrawal mode and enter a planned annual withdrawal to see how long your projected balance might last in retirement.

Growth mode uses a simple yearly loop. It starts with your opening balance, applies the expected return for that year, then adds your employee contribution and any match before moving to the next age. That means the calculator compounds the account once per year rather than pretending the balance grows all at once at retirement.

The calculator treats the match as a percent of your salary that is eligible for matching. If your plan matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary, the calculator only counts 6% of salary as match-eligible even if you contribute more than that. That keeps the estimate simple while still matching how many common plans work.

Many plans only match a slice of salary, not every dollar you contribute. The salary cap input lets the calculator model that common rule without adding a separate plan picker or vesting workflow. If your plan works differently, you can adjust the cap to fit the rule you know.

Yes. You can enter a manual starting balance and the retirement age you want to test, then the withdrawal table will project forward to age 100 or depletion. If you already ran growth mode, the withdrawal mode can also reuse the projected retirement balance and age as a starting point.

No. It is an estimate only and does not model income taxes, early withdrawal penalties, RMDs, or plan-specific rules. The calculator is meant to show gross balance movement so you can compare scenarios quickly before moving to a tax-aware planner.

Use a return rate that matches your own planning assumption instead of a single market year. Many people test a conservative rate and a more optimistic rate to see how sensitive the balance is. Because the model compounds every year, small changes in the return assumption can make a big difference over long horizons.

Different calculators may use monthly compounding, wage growth, vesting schedules, fee assumptions, or different match rules. This version stays intentionally transparent and simple so you can see the core math without hidden plan logic. The tradeoff is that the result is an estimate, not a full recordkeeper simulation.

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