401(k) Employer Match Calculator
Employer match formulas are written in plan documents, not in law, and they vary enormously. Enter yours and see what it pays, what deferral captures all of it, and what any shortfall costs over a career.
On this page
The four formulas plans actually use
Dollar for dollar up to a percentage. The employer matches every dollar you defer until you hit the cap. "100% up to 4%" means contributing 4% of pay gets you another 4%; contributing 8% still gets you 4%.
Partial match up to a percentage. The employer matches a fraction. "50% up to 6%" pays fifty cents per dollar until your deferral reaches 6% of pay, so the maximum match is 3% of pay and it takes a 6% contribution to get it.
Tiered. Two rates stacked. "100% on the first 3%, then 50% on the next 2%" pays 4% of pay in total and requires a 5% deferral. This is the shape of a common safe-harbour design.
Fixed or non-elective. The employer contributes a set amount whether or not you defer anything. Nothing is required of you, so there is nothing to leave unclaimed.
None of these is a legal default. There is no government match formula, no standard percentage, and no requirement that any plan match at all — which is exactly why this calculator asks rather than assumes.
The number that matters most
It is not the match itself. It is the contribution percentage required to collect all of it, and how far your current deferral is from that figure.
Under "50% up to 6%", someone contributing 4% receives 2% of pay in match. Raising the deferral to 6% raises the match to 3%. On an $85,000 salary that is $850 a year of employer money currently going uncollected — for a $1,700 increase in the reader's own contribution.
The calculator reports the shortfall in both directions: what you would need to contribute, and what the gap costs each year and by retirement.
Vesting: what you would actually keep
Your own contributions are always yours. Employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule — commonly a cliff (nothing until a service anniversary, then all of it) or graded vesting (a rising percentage each year).
Unvested employer money is forfeited if you leave, which makes the vested figure the honest one when weighing a job move. Safe-harbour matches are immediately vested by design; ordinary matching contributions often are not. Your summary plan description states which applies.
How the match is calculated
Your deferral is expressed as a percentage of pay, capped at the compensation limit the plan may take into account — $360,000 for 2026. The formula is then applied to that percentage:
match = salary × min(deferral %, cap %) × match rate
For a tiered formula each tier is evaluated separately and the results are added. The future value applies the expected return to the annual match over the years to retirement, as an ordinary annuity.
A worked example
An $85,000 salary, contributing 4%, under a 50%-up-to-6% match, 60% vested, 25 years from retirement at a 7% assumed return.
The contribution is $3,400 and the match is $1,700 — half of the $3,400, since 4% is inside the 6% cap. Contributing $5,100 instead (6% of pay) would raise the match to $2,550. The $850 difference, invested annually for 25 years at 7%, is worth roughly $53,800 by retirement.
Vesting at 60% means $1,020 of this year's $1,700 match is currently yours to keep. The rest arrives with time in service.
Where a match stops being free money
The match is an immediate return on your contribution and there is rarely a good argument for leaving it. But two things are worth checking before contributing beyond the matched amount.
First, high-interest debt. Clearing a card at 24% beats almost any investment return, matched or not. Second, plan costs: a plan charging well over 1% in total fees is a poor home for unmatched money, and an IRA usually is not. Neither of those is an argument against capturing the match itself.
What this does not cover
- True-up provisions. Plans that match per pay period can shortchange someone who front-loads contributions early in the year. Some plans correct this with an annual true-up; many do not.
- Profit-sharing and discretionary contributions. Use the fixed option to model a known amount, and remember that a discretionary contribution is not promised.
- Forfeiture rules and rehire credit. Both vary by plan and neither is modelled.
- Tax. Employer contributions to a traditional 401(k) are pre-tax and taxed on withdrawal.
For the full balance projection see the 401(k) calculator, and for what it means alongside Social Security see the retirement calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What does "50% match up to 6%" actually mean?
The employer contributes fifty cents for every dollar you defer, and stops matching once your own deferral reaches 6% of pay. The maximum employer contribution is therefore 3% of your salary.
To collect all of it you must contribute the full 6% yourself. Contributing 3% gets you 1.5%, not 3%.
Is there a standard employer match?
No. There is no legal minimum, no government formula, and no requirement that an employer match at all. Common designs cluster around 3% to 5% of pay in employer money, but that is an observation about the market, not a rule you can rely on.
The only authority on your match is your plan document. Enter what it says rather than a figure from an article.
What happens to the match if I leave before I am vested?
Unvested employer contributions are forfeited. Your own contributions and their growth always go with you.
This is worth pricing before resigning. If a vesting anniversary is a few months away, the difference can be several thousand dollars.
Can I get the full match by contributing a large amount early in the year?
Sometimes it works against you. Plans that calculate the match per pay period only match what you defer in that period, so hitting the annual limit in June can mean forfeiting the match for the rest of the year.
Some plans include an annual true-up that fixes this. Ask your administrator directly — it is a specific question with a specific answer, and getting it wrong is expensive.
Does the match count against the $24,500 contribution limit?
No. The elective deferral limit applies only to money you defer from your own pay. Employer contributions count against the separate $72,000 combined limit for 2026.
That combined limit rarely binds outside high salaries paired with generous profit sharing.
Is the match worth contributing to a plan with high fees?
Almost always, yes. An immediate 50% or 100% return on the matched portion dwarfs a fee difference of one or two percent a year for a long time.
The fee argument applies to contributions above the match, which could go to an IRA with cheaper funds instead. Capture the match first, then decide where the rest goes.
Related calculators
This calculator is provided for general educational and estimation purposes only and is not financial, investment, or tax advice. Match and vesting terms come from your plan document, and only that document governs what you are actually entitled to. Read the summary plan description before making a decision on the strength of this estimate.