Home/Calculators/401(k) match
An employer match is the only guaranteed return in your benefits package. Contribute below the threshold and the unclaimed portion does not roll over or wait for you. It simply never gets paid.
What you'll need
Your salary, what percentage you contribute now, and the match formula from your benefits guide.
What you get
The exact contribution percentage that captures every match dollar, and whether front-loading would cost you money later in the year.
Most plans read like “100% of the first 3%, then 50% of the next 2%”. If yours has only one tier, leave the second at zero.
If you contribute a large percentage, you can hit the annual IRS deferral limit before the year ends. Contributions then stop, and on many plans the match stops with them, because the match is calculated per paycheck rather than annually.
Plans that offer a true-up reconcile this after year end and pay what you would have earned. Plans without one simply do not. It is one line in the plan document and it is worth thousands.
This calculator flags the situation when your rate would max you out early. If it does, either lower the percentage so contributions run through December, or confirm your plan has a true-up before front-loading deliberately.
| Limit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Elective deferral, under 50 | $24,500 |
| Catch-up, ages 50 to 59 | $8,000 |
| Catch-up, ages 60 to 63 | $11,250 |
| Total additions, including employer money | $72,000 |
Source: IRS Notice 2025-67. The 2027 figures had not been published as of 28 July 2026; this tool uses the 2026 limits and will be updated when the IRS announces.
Tiered matches apply in order. With “100% of the first 3%, then 50% of the next 2%”, contributing 5% earns 3% plus half of 2%, so 4% of salary in match. Contributing more than 5% earns nothing extra, because the tiers are exhausted.
The full-match percentage is simply the sum of the tier widths, 3 plus 2, so 5%. That is the number to beat, and going past it does not increase the match, only your own savings.
Your own contributions are always yours. Employer money may be subject to a vesting schedule, often three years cliff or graded over several years. If you leave before vesting, some or all of the match goes back.
That does not change whether you should capture it, since unvested money still beats no money. It changes how you weigh a job change, and it is worth knowing your schedule before you resign.
Compare health plans by total annual cost and find the break-even point.
Which account nets you more, and how much of an FSA you would forfeit.
Whether your income still qualifies for a premium tax credit in 2027.
Match formulas are buried in the retirement section, usually in a sentence nobody finishes reading. Benefits Decoder pulls yours out, works out the exact percentage, and checks the vesting schedule while it is in there.
Not financial advice. This does arithmetic on the figures you enter and the published IRS limits. It does not know your plan's true-up policy, vesting schedule, or whether your employer counts bonuses as eligible pay. Your plan documents govern; check them or ask HR before changing your contribution.
Nothing you type here is sent anywhere. The calculator runs entirely in your browser.