US 401(k) Retirement Calculator
Project your 401(k) retirement balance with employer match, catch-up contributions, and Roth vs Traditional comparison.
US 401(k) Guide
2025 Contribution Limits
401(k) employee contribution limit 2025: $23,500. Catch-up contribution if age 50+: additional $7,500 (total $31,000). New for 2025: catch-up for ages 60-63 is $11,250 (instead of $7,500) under SECURE 2.0 Act. Employer match does NOT count toward the $23,500 limit — it's a separate $46,000 combined limit. Most people don't contribute the max — the median 401(k) contribution rate is 7-8% of salary. Best practice: contribute AT LEAST enough to get full employer match (free money), then increase 1%
Roth vs Traditional 401(k)
Traditional 401(k): contribute pre-tax, money grows tax-deferred, withdrawals in retirement taxed as ordinary income. Reduces current year taxable income. Best when current tax bracket is HIGH and you expect to be in a LOWER bracket in retirement. Roth 401(k): contribute post-tax, money grows tax-free, withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. Doesn't reduce current taxable income. Best when current tax bracket is LOW and you expect to be in a HIGHER bracket in retirement. Young workers often bene
Employer Match — The Most Important Rule
Always contribute enough to capture the full employer match. Common match structures: 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary (most common — equals 3% additional from employer). 100% of contributions up to 3% of salary. 100% on first 3% + 50% on next 2%. Calculating the real value: at $75,000 salary with 50% match on first 6%, you contribute $4,500/year, employer contributes $2,250/year. Over 35 years at 7% return, that $2,250/year of employer money grows to approximately $311,000. By contrast,
The 4% Rule and Retirement Withdrawals
The Trinity Study (1998, updated regularly) suggests that retirees can safely withdraw 4% of their starting portfolio in year one, adjusting for inflation each year, with 95%+ probability of the money lasting 30 years. Translation: every $1 million in retirement savings provides approximately $40,000/year sustainable income. A 25-year-old saving $500/month at 7% reaches $1.2M by 65 — providing $48,000/year retirement income, supplementing Social Security (~$24,000/year average) and any other ret
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