What is the 2025 401(k) contribution limit?

For 2025 the 401(k) limit is $23,500 in employee deferrals. If you are 50 or older you can add a $7,500 catch-up, and if you are 60, 61, 62 or 63 a higher $11,250 super catch-up applies instead. This calculator applies the right cap automatically for each year of the projection.

What does maxing out a 401(k) grow to?

It depends on your time horizon and return. As an illustration, contributing the $23,500 2025 401(k) maximum every year for 30 years at a 7% annual return grows to roughly $2,296,000 — most of which is compound growth, not the money you put in. Enter your own age and return for a personalised figure.

Does the $23,500 limit include my employer match?

No. $23,500 (plus any catch-up) is the employee elective-deferral cap. Employer match and profit-sharing count toward a separate overall §415(c) limit of $70,000 for 2025, so the match does not eat into your personal deferral room. This tool lets you add the employer dollars on top.

What is the age 60–63 super catch-up for a 401(k)?

Under SECURE 2.0, starting in 2025 workers who are 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year can make a larger catch-up of $11,250 instead of $7,500. At age 64 the catch-up reverts to $7,500. The projection opens and closes this window automatically as you age.

Does this account for inflation, fees or taxes?

No. It is a nominal pre-fee, pre-tax growth projection that enforces the 2025 IRS contribution limit but does not deduct investment fees, model inflation, or apply withdrawal taxes. Treat the result as an estimated account balance, not spendable after-tax income.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. Every calculation runs entirely in your browser in JavaScript. None of your age, balance or contribution figures are ever transmitted to a server.

401(k) Max-Out Growth Calculator 2025 — Project $23,500/yr to Retirement

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401(k) Max-Out Growth Calculator 2025

Two questions decide your retirement number: how much you put in and how long it compounds. Most calculators do one or the other. This one does both — it caps each year’s contribution at the real 2025 IRS limit for a 401(k) and then compounds it to your retirement age.

For 2025 the 401(k) limit is $23,500 (+$7,500 catch-up at age 50+, +$11,250 super catch-up at ages 60–63). The $23,500 figure is your employee deferral only; employer match falls under a separate overall §415(c) limit of $70,000 for 2025, which this tool lets you add on top. The age-50 catch-up and the SECURE 2.0 age-60–63 super catch-up are applied automatically in the years you qualify — the tool raises and lowers your cap as you cross each age band, so a multi-decade projection stays accurate.

Enter your current age, target retirement age, starting balance and expected annual return. Tick “contribute the IRS maximum every year” to see the ceiling, or untick it to model your own amount (it is still clamped to the legal limit). Everything runs in your browser — no figures are transmitted.

2025 limits used: 401(k) $23,500 (+$7,500 catch-up at age 50+, +$11,250 super catch-up at ages 60–63). Source: IRS Notice 2024-80 + IRS Newsroom IR-2024-285, verified 2026-06-17. Always confirm the current year’s figure at irs.gov.