Financial experts generally recommend saving at least 10–15% of your income for retirement, but that number can feel abstract without seeing how it actually translates into a real account balance decades down the line. A 401k calculator takes your current contribution rate, employer match, and expected growth to project what your account could realistically look like by the time you retire.
Employer matching is one of the most overlooked pieces of this puzzle — failing to contribute enough to get your full employer match is often described as leaving free money on the table, yet plenty of workers still don’t hit that threshold. It’s also worth factoring in how inflation will affect your future purchasing power and checking your expected retirement age to see how many years of growth you’re actually working with.
See where your current contributions have you headed with our free 401k retirement savings calculator. If you’re also curious how a taxable investment account compares, our compound interest calculator and SIP calculator can help you compare growth scenarios side by side.