Your workplace retirement plan · 2026 rules
Separate your savings, employer contributions, and the money you could actually keep.
Use your vested balance. Existing employer money that is not yet yours is excluded.
Before fees. Returns can be lower or negative.
Choose an example or enter the formula in your benefits plan.
This tier starts after the first 6% of pay. Leave both at 0 if your plan has one tier.
$0.50 for each $1 you contribute on the first 6% of eligible pay.
Estimated savings you could keep at age 65
$944,971
Your current owned savings, future contributions, and estimated growth—after excluding employer money that would not yet be yours. Before withdrawal taxes.
You contribute this year
$5,400
$450 per month, averaged over a full year.
Employer adds this year
$2,700
Before any vesting restriction.
Available match not captured
$0
Additional employer money the modeled formula could allow.
Your contribution captures the maximum employer match under this formula and the applied limits.
First-tier match
$2,700
Second-tier match
$0
Total after contribution caps
$2,700
Green includes the employer money you would own at each age. Purple uses your money only. The comparison assumes you stay with this employer.
After entered fees, before any vesting adjustment.
The 2026 employee limit is $24,500; permitted catch-up adds $8,000 from age 50 or $11,250 at ages 60–63. Regular employee plus employer contributions are capped at the smaller of annual pay or $72,000, excluding catch-up. Match pay is capped at $360,000. Lower plan-specific limits may apply.
We model full future contribution years, month-end deposits, annual employer true-up, and the same employer until the target age. Limits remain at 2026 values in later years. Your age is used as your age for the first modeled contribution year.
Vesting applies to new employer contributions and their growth using completed service years. Your starting balance must already be vested; existing unvested money is not included. Custom non-equal vesting schedules, payroll-specific matching, multiple plans, withdrawal taxes, and Roth catch-up tax treatment are not modeled.
Planning estimate, not a quote, approval, tax calculation, or promise of returns.
Your employer contributes under the formula in your plan. For example, a 100% match on the first 3% of pay plus 50% on the next 2% can contribute 4% of eligible pay when you contribute 5%, before applicable limits. Enter your own plan's formula; the example is not a promise from your employer.
Your contributions are yours. Employer contributions may become yours only after a service requirement, called vesting. This calculator separates future employer money that is not yet yours from the estimated amount you could keep. Enter only your already-owned balance in the starting savings field.
The model applies 2026 employee and combined contribution limits and optional age-based catch-up contributions. It holds those limits constant in future years, models one employer and full-year contributions, and assumes matching is reconciled annually. Plan-specific restrictions, existing unvested balances, account-specific taxes, and withdrawal penalties are not calculated. Confirm your plan details with its administrator.