How much should I save for retirement?

A common guideline is at least 15% of income including any employer match. Fidelity also suggests aiming for about ten times your salary saved by 67.

What are the 401(k) limits for 2026?

Employees can contribute up to 24,500 dollars, plus 8,000 from age 50, or 11,250 at ages 60 to 63. The IRA limit is 7,500, plus 1,100 from age 50.

A guideline from a 1994 study by William Bengen: withdraw 4% of your savings in the first year and raise it with inflation, and the money historically lasted about 30 years.

How does the employer match work?

Your employer adds money based on your contributions, for example 50 cents per dollar up to 6% of salary. Contribute at least enough to get the full match.

Does the calculator include Social Security?

Enter it as other monthly income in the How much you need tab. The calculator then reduces the savings you need by that amount.

Retirement Calculator - 401(k) Growth Estimate

Plan your retirement savings

The calculator answers four questions, each in its own tab: how much you will have, how much you need, how long your savings will last, and how much you need to save each month to reach a target. It handles employer matching and inflation, and works for a 401(k), an IRA or any retirement savings.

The four tabs

How much you will have projects your balance at retirement from your current savings, monthly contribution, employer match and expected return.
How much you need estimates the savings required to replace a share of your income for the rest of your life, after other income such as Social Security or a pension.
How long it lasts shows how many years a balance would support a monthly withdrawal that rises with inflation.
How much to save works backwards from a target to the monthly contribution needed.

Benchmarks

Fidelity suggests saving at least 15% of your income for retirement, counting any employer contribution, with milestones of about one year's salary saved by 30, three times by 40, six times by 50, eight times by 60 and ten times by 67. Many people are behind those numbers; the useful part is the direction, not the exact figure. Raising your contribution by one percentage point each year is a painless way to catch up.

2026 contribution limits

401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans: 24,500 dollars, plus an 8,000 dollar catch-up from age 50, or 11,250 dollars at ages 60 to 63.
IRA: 7,500 dollars, plus 1,100 from age 50.

Never leave the match unclaimed

An employer that matches, say, 50% of what you put in up to 6% of salary is handing you an instant 50% return. Contribute at least enough to collect the whole match before paying extra into anything else, even before most investing outside the plan.

How much is enough?

Planners often start from replacing 70 to 80% of your pre-retirement income. Someone who wants 60,000 dollars a year for 25 years, with a 6% return and 2.5% inflation, needs roughly 1 million dollars on the day they retire. The well-known 4% rule, which comes from William Bengen's 1994 study of historical returns, says a portfolio could support a first-year withdrawal of 4% of its value, raised with inflation, for about 30 years. Use the How long it lasts tab to test your own withdrawal.

Estimates only, not financial advice. Returns are not guaranteed, and taxes, fees and Social Security rules are not modelled. Contribution limits are the IRS figures for 2026.