Enter the percentage of your salary you want to contribute.
Describe your employer's matching contribution (e.g., "50% on first 6%", "dollar-for-dollar up to 3%", "100% on first 4%").
Your Retirement Contributions
Employer Match: $0.00Total Contribution: $0.00
Understanding Your 401(k) Company Match
A 401(k) plan is a retirement savings plan that allows individuals to save for retirement with tax advantages. One of the most significant benefits of participating in a 401(k) is the company match. Many employers offer to match a portion of your contributions, which is essentially free money for your retirement.
How the Match Works: Your employer's match is typically based on a percentage of your salary that you contribute. The formula can vary widely:
Dollar-for-Dollar Match: For every dollar you contribute, your employer contributes a dollar, up to a certain limit (e.g., "dollar-for-dollar up to 3% of your salary").
Percentage Match: Your employer contributes a percentage of your contribution (e.g., "50% match on your contributions").
Combined Formulas: Often, it's a combination, like "50% match on the first 6% of your salary." This means if you contribute 6% or more, your employer will contribute 3% (50% of 6%).
Why it Matters: Maximizing your company match is one of the most effective ways to boost your retirement savings. Not taking full advantage of the match means leaving free money on the table. This calculator helps you understand how much your employer contributes based on your salary and contribution rate, and the total impact on your retirement savings.
Calculator Logic:
This calculator takes your annual salary, your personal contribution rate, and your employer's specific match formula to calculate:
Your Annual Contribution: Calculated as (Your Annual Salary * Your Contribution Rate) / 100.
Your Employer's Match: This is the most complex part, as it depends on the provided formula. The calculator parses common formulas like "X% on first Y%" to determine the employer's contribution amount.
Total Annual Contribution: The sum of your contribution and your employer's match.
Example Calculation:
If your Annual Salary is $75,000, your Contribution Rate is 8%, and the Company Match Formula is "50% on first 6%":
Your Contribution: ($75,000 * 8%) = $6,000
Employer Match Calculation: Your employer matches 50% of your contributions up to 6% of your salary. Since you contribute 8%, the match is calculated on 6%. Employer Match = 50% * (6% of $75,000) = 0.50 * ($75,000 * 0.06) = 0.50 * $4,500 = $2,250.
Total Contribution: $6,000 (Yours) + $2,250 (Employer) = $8,250
Disclaimer: This calculator provides an estimate. Please consult your plan documents or HR department for the exact details of your 401(k) plan and company match.
function calculateMatch() {
var salary = parseFloat(document.getElementById("annualSalary").value);
var contributionRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById("contributionRate").value);
var matchFormulaInput = document.getElementById("matchFormula").value.trim();
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
var employerMatchSpan = document.querySelector("#result .employer-match");
var totalContributionSpan = document.querySelector("#result .total-contribution");
// Clear previous results
employerMatchSpan.textContent = "Employer Match: $0.00";
totalContributionSpan.textContent = "Total Contribution: $0.00";
// Input validation
if (isNaN(salary) || salary <= 0) {
alert("Please enter a valid annual salary.");
return;
}
if (isNaN(contributionRate) || contributionRate 100) {
alert("Please enter a valid contribution rate between 0 and 100.");
return;
}
if (matchFormulaInput === "") {
alert("Please enter your company's match formula.");
return;
}
var yourContributionAmount = salary * (contributionRate / 100);
var employerMatchAmount = 0;
// Parse the match formula
// Example formulas: "50% on first 6%", "dollar-for-dollar up to 3%", "100% on first 4%"
var formulaParts = matchFormulaInput.toLowerCase().replace('%', ").split(' on ');
var matchPercentage = 0;
var matchCapPercentage = 0;
if (matchFormulaInput.includes("dollar-for-dollar")) {
var capMatchParts = matchFormulaInput.toLowerCase().split('up to ');
if (capMatchParts.length > 1) {
matchCapPercentage = parseFloat(capMatchParts[1].replace('%', ")) || 0;
}
matchPercentage = 1; // Dollar-for-dollar means 100% match
} else if (formulaParts.length === 2) {
matchPercentage = parseFloat(formulaParts[0]) / 100;
matchCapPercentage = parseFloat(formulaParts[1]) || 0;
} else if (matchFormulaInput.includes("on first")) {
var matchDetails = matchFormulaInput.match(/(\d+(\.\d+)?)\s*(%|percent)?\s*on\s*first\s*(\d+(\.\d+)?)\s*(%|percent)?/i);
if (matchDetails) {
matchPercentage = parseFloat(matchDetails[1]) / 100;
matchCapPercentage = parseFloat(matchDetails[4]) || 0;
}
} else {
alert("Could not parse the match formula. Please use a clear format like '50% on first 6%' or 'dollar-for-dollar up to 3%'.");
return;
}
if (isNaN(matchPercentage) || isNaN(matchCapPercentage)) {
alert("Invalid numbers in the match formula. Please check and try again.");
return;
}
var maxYourContributionForMatch = salary * (matchCapPercentage / 100);
var yourContributionEligibleForMatch = Math.min(yourContributionAmount, maxYourContributionForMatch);
employerMatchAmount = yourContributionEligibleForMatch * matchPercentage;
// Ensure employer match doesn't exceed the calculated cap based on the formula's percentage part
// For example, if formula is 50% on first 6%, and you contribute 100% of salary,
// the match is capped at 50% of the 6% contribution = 3% of salary.
var calculatedMatchCap = salary * matchCapPercentage / 100 * matchPercentage;
employerMatchAmount = Math.min(employerMatchAmount, calculatedMatchCap);
var totalContributionAmount = yourContributionAmount + employerMatchAmount;
employerMatchSpan.textContent = "Employer Match: $" + employerMatchAmount.toFixed(2);
totalContributionSpan.textContent = "Total Contribution: $" + totalContributionAmount.toFixed(2);
}