401k calculator
A projection, not a promise. Contribution limits, employer match rules and tax treatment change, and investment returns are not a constant 7%. Speak to a financial adviser about your own situation.
A 401k grows from contributions, any employer match and compounding returns. Forty-five thousand at 35, plus 900 a month at 7%, reaches about 1.24 million by 65; supporting roughly 49,500 a year at a 4% withdrawal rate.
How to project a 401k
The employer match is the part worth checking first, because it is the only guaranteed return available. A dollar-for-dollar match up to 4% of salary is an instant 100% return on that portion, which no investment will beat. Anyone contributing below the match threshold is leaving money on the table in a way no asset allocation decision can compensate for. After that, the two levers that matter are the contribution rate and the number of years, and years cannot be added later, which is why starting early dominates almost everything else in this calculation.
Questions
It depends on contributions, return and years. The year-by-year table shows how much of the final figure is growth rather than contributions.
Six to seven per cent nominal is a common long-run planning figure for a diversified portfolio. Lower if you are heavily in bonds.
Yes, in the monthly contribution. It is real money going into the account and it compounds like the rest.
A rule of thumb that withdrawing 4% of the pot in the first year, then adjusting for inflation, has historically lasted 30 years. It is a starting point, not a guarantee.
Enormously. The last five years before retirement compound on the largest balance, so the years you add at the start are worth the most.