How much will my 403(b) be worth?
Enter your age, salary, what you put in and your employer match. See your 403(b) at retirement, within the IRS limits, including the 15-year catch-up.
- At retirement you’ll have
- $2,628,812.97
At 7% a year, your 403(b) grows to $2,628,812.97 by age 67, including $148,892.00 from your employer.
- Balance today
- $25,000.00
- Your contributions
- $496,306.67
- Employer contributions
- $148,892.00
- Investment growth
- $1,958,614.30
- In today’s moneyIf prices rise by the inflation rate each year
- $880,607.49
- You put in this year
- $7,500.00
- Your employer adds this year
- $2,250.00
- Your IRS limit this year
- $24,500.00
- 15-year catch-up this year
- $0.00
- Months
- 444
At retirement you’ll have: $2,628,812.97. At 7% a year, your 403(b) grows to $2,628,812.97 by age 67, including $148,892.00 from your employer.
Where does the money come from?
How does your 403(b) grow?
What does each year look like?
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Projects a 403(b) balance at retirement from your salary, your contribution rate and your employer match, within the 2026 IRS limits, with the age 50, age 60 to 63 and 15-year catch-ups.
Example with the default inputs (Your age 30, Retirement age 67, 403(b) balance today $25,000.00, Yearly salary $75,000.00, You contribute 10%, Employer match 50%, Match stops at 6%, Expected yearly return 7%, Yearly raise 3%, Prices rise each year by 3%): At 7% a year, your 403(b) grows to $2,628,812.97 by age 67, including $148,892.00 from your employer.
Method: Each year, you put in min(your % × salary, $24,500 + 15-year catch-up + age catch-up) and the employer adds match % × min(your contribution, match cap % × salary), within the section 415(c) limit; both are spread over 12 months, and the balance grows each month at (1 + R)^(1/12) − 1.
- The IRS limits stay at their 2026 amounts for every future year. The IRS usually raises them with inflation.
- Contributions are spread evenly over the 12 months and added at the end of each month.
- The yearly return stays the same every year. Real returns go up and down, and can be negative.
- Your salary rises by the yearly raise at the start of each new year.
- Fees and taxes are not included. Withdrawals from a traditional 403(b) are taxed as income.
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Your age 30, Retirement age 31, 403(b) balance today $0.00, Yearly salary $60,000.00, You contribute 10%, Employer match 50%, Match stops at 6%, Expected yearly return 0% gives At retirement you’ll have $7,800.00, You put in this year $6,000.00, Your employer adds this year $1,800.00, Your IRS limit this year $24,500.00.Source: IRS, Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (2026: $24,500 elective deferrals, $8,000 age 50 catch-up, $11,250 at 60 to 63, 15-year catch-up, $72,000 annual additions) (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits, retrieved 2026-10-02)
- Your age 55, Retirement age 56, 403(b) balance today $0.00, Yearly salary $300,000.00, You contribute 20%, Employer match 100%, Match stops at 6%, Expected yearly return 0% gives You put in this year $32,500.00, Your employer adds this year $18,000.00, At retirement you’ll have $50,500.00, Your IRS limit this year $32,500.00.Source: IRS, Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (2026: $24,500 elective deferrals, $8,000 age 50 catch-up, $11,250 at 60 to 63, 15-year catch-up, $72,000 annual additions) (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits, retrieved 2026-10-02): 2026 deferral limit $24,500 plus the $8,000 catch-up at 50 or older
- Your age 45, Retirement age 46, 403(b) balance today $0.00, Yearly salary $100,000.00, You contribute 30%, Employer match 0%, Match stops at 0%, Expected yearly return 0%, Years of service with this employer 20, Your deferrals with this employer before this year $90,000.00 gives You put in this year $27,500.00, Your IRS limit this year $27,500.00, 15-year catch-up this year $3,000.00.Source: IRS, Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (2026: $24,500 elective deferrals, $8,000 age 50 catch-up, $11,250 at 60 to 63, 15-year catch-up, $72,000 annual additions) (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits, retrieved 2026-10-02): the 15-year catch-up is the least of $3,000, $15,000 less earlier use, and $5,000 × 20 − 90,000 = 10,000
- Your age 52, Retirement age 53, 403(b) balance today $0.00, Yearly salary $200,000.00, You contribute 20%, Employer match 200%, Match stops at 25%, Expected yearly return 0%, Years of service with this employer 15, Your deferrals with this employer before this year $50,000.00 gives You put in this year $35,500.00, Your employer adds this year $44,500.00, At retirement you’ll have $80,000.00, 15-year catch-up this year $3,000.00, Your IRS limit this year $35,500.00.Source: IRS, Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (2026: $24,500 elective deferrals, $8,000 age 50 catch-up, $11,250 at 60 to 63, 15-year catch-up, $72,000 annual additions) (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits, retrieved 2026-10-02): Pat’s deferrals with the $3,000 15-year catch-up plus the employer’s reach the annual additions limit, and the age 50 catch-up comes on top
- Your age 45, Retirement age 50, 403(b) balance today $0.00, Yearly salary $100,000.00, Yearly raise 0%, You contribute 30%, Employer match 0%, Match stops at 0%, Expected yearly return 0%, Years of service with this employer 15, Your deferrals with this employer before this year $70,000.00, 15-year catch-up already used $12,000.00 gives Your contributions $125,500.00, 15-year catch-up this year $3,000.00.Source: IRS, Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (2026: $24,500 elective deferrals, $8,000 age 50 catch-up, $11,250 at 60 to 63, 15-year catch-up, $72,000 annual additions) (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits, retrieved 2026-10-02): $15,000 lifetime limit
- Your age 30, Retirement age 40, 403(b) balance today $10,000.00, Yearly salary $50,000.00, Yearly raise 0%, You contribute 6%, Employer match 100%, Match stops at 6%, Expected yearly return 7% gives At retirement you’ll have $105,197.38, Your contributions $30,000.00, Employer contributions $30,000.00.Source: IRS, Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (2026: $24,500 elective deferrals, $8,000 age 50 catch-up, $11,250 at 60 to 63, 15-year catch-up, $72,000 annual additions) (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits, retrieved 2026-10-02)
How the contributions are worked out
Year k is this year (k = 0), next year (k = 1), and so on, until the year before your retirement age. Your age in year k is your age + k, and your salary is salary × (1 + raise)^k. An empty raise counts as 0%.
The IRS limits are the 2026 amounts, used for every year:
| Limit | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Your contributions (elective deferrals) | $24,500 |
| Catch-up, age 50 or older | $8,000 |
| Catch-up, ages 60 to 63 (instead of $8,000) | $11,250 |
| 15-year catch-up, a year | $3,000 |
| 15-year catch-up, lifetime | $15,000 |
| 15-year catch-up, per year of service | $5,000 |
| Your contributions plus your employer’s, without the age catch-up | $72,000 |
Each year:
- 15-year catch-up room = 0 if the years of service box is empty or the years of service that year (the box + k) are under 15. Otherwise the least of: $3,000; $15,000 − the 15-year catch-up used so far; and $5,000 × years of service − your deferrals with this employer before that year (never below 0).
- Age catch-up = $11,250 if your age that year is 60 to 63, else $8,000 if it is 50 or more, else 0.
- Your limit = $24,500 + 15-year room + age catch-up.
- You put in = the lesser of (your % × salary) and your limit.
- 15-year catch-up used = the lesser of the 15-year room and (what you put in − $24,500), not below 0: deferrals over the base limit count toward the 15-year catch-up first, then toward the age catch-up.
- Matched = match % × the lesser of (what you put in) and (match cap % × salary).
- Your employer adds = the lesser of matched and the room left: the lesser of $72,000 and your salary, minus the lesser of what you put in and ($24,500 + the 15-year room), never below 0.
- For the next year, your earlier deferrals grow by what you put in, and the 15-year catch-up used grows by step 5.
The boxes for earlier deferrals and the 15-year catch-up already used start these totals (empty counts as 0). Both yearly amounts are split into 12 equal monthly amounts.
How the balance grows
The yearly return R becomes a monthly rate g = (1 + R)^(1/12) − 1. Each month, growth = balance × g is added, then your and your employer’s monthly amounts are added. This runs for 12 × (retirement age − your age) months.
- At retirement you’ll have is the balance after the last month.
- Your contributions and employer contributions add up every monthly amount. Investment growth is the final balance minus today’s balance and both totals.
- In today’s money is the final balance ÷ (1 + inflation)^(retirement age − your age). It is left out when the inflation rate is empty.
- You put in this year, your employer adds this year, your IRS limit this year and 15-year catch-up this year are the year k = 0 amounts.
If the retirement age is not more than your age, there is no answer.
Assumptions
- The 2026 IRS limits stay the same in later years. The plan counts all of your salary.
- The return is the same every year. Fees and taxes are not included.
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.
When the data is out of date
The limits are the IRS limits for 2026. After December 31, 2026, the calculator keeps using them until the page is updated, and the result says “Uses 2026 IRS 403(b) limits”. The IRS usually raises the limits each year.
Worked examples by hand
$60,000 salary, 10% in, 50% match up to 6%, one year at 0%. You put in 10% × 60,000 = $6,000 (under $24,500). The match counts the lesser of $6,000 and 6% × 60,000 = $3,600, so the employer adds $1,800. Balance after the year: $7,800.
Age 55, $300,000 salary, 20% in, 100% match up to 6%. Your limit is 24,500 + 8,000 = $32,500, so you put in $32,500. The match is the lesser of $32,500 and $18,000: $18,000, within the room of 72,000 − 24,500 = $47,500. Total $50,500.
Age 45, 20 years of service, $90,000 deferred before, $100,000 salary, 30% in. The 15-year room is the least of $3,000, $15,000 and 5,000 × 20 − 90,000 = $10,000: $3,000. Your limit is 24,500 + 3,000 = $27,500, and 30% is $30,000, so you put in $27,500, of which $3,000 is the 15-year catch-up.
Age 52, 15 years of service, $50,000 deferred before, $200,000 salary, 20% in, 200% match up to 25%. 15-year room: least of $3,000, $15,000, 75,000 − 50,000 = $25,000: $3,000. Limit = 24,500 + 3,000 + 8,000 = $35,500, and 20% is $40,000, so you put in $35,500. Matched = 200% × the lesser of 35,500 and 50,000 = $71,000. Room = 72,000 − (24,500 + 3,000) = $44,500, so the employer adds $44,500. Total $80,000: $72,000 plus the $8,000 age catch-up, as in the IRS example for Pat.
Age 45 to 50, 15 years of service, $70,000 deferred before, $12,000 of the 15-year catch-up used, $100,000 salary, 30% in. Year 1: room = least of $3,000, 15,000 − 12,000 = $3,000 and 75,000 − 70,000 = $5,000: $3,000, so you put in $27,500. Years 2 to 5: the lifetime $15,000 is used up, so you put in $24,500 each year. Your contributions: 27,500 + 4 × 24,500 = $125,500.
Age 30 to 40, $10,000 today, $50,000 salary, 6% in, 100% match up to 6%, 7% a year. Each year you and your employer each put in $3,000: $500 a month together. g = 1.07^(1/12) − 1 = 0.0056541, and (1 + g)^120 = 1.07^10 = 1.967151. Today’s balance grows to $19,671.51; the monthly amounts grow to 500 × 0.967151 ÷ 0.0056541 = $85,525.87. Total: $105,197.38, with $30,000 each from you and your employer.
Other questions people ask
How much can I put in a 403(b) in 2026?
The IRS limit on your elective deferrals is $24,500 for 2026. At 50 or older you can add a catch-up of $8,000, or $11,250 if you are 60, 61, 62 or 63. Long-serving employees of some employers can add the 15-year catch-up as well.
What is the 15-year catch-up?
If you have 15 or more years of service with a qualifying employer (a public school system, hospital, home health service agency, health and welfare service agency, church, or convention or association of churches), your limit rises by the least of $3,000, $15,000 minus what you used before, and $5,000 × your years of service minus your earlier deferrals there.
Can I use the 15-year and the age 50 catch-up together?
Yes. Deferrals over the base limit count first toward the 15-year catch-up, then toward the age 50 catch-up (IRS). At 52 with 15 years of service you could put in 24,500 + 3,000 + 8,000 = $35,500 in 2026.
Is there a limit on my employer’s contributions?
Yes. Your deferrals (with the 15-year catch-up, but not the age catch-up) plus your employer’s cannot be more than $72,000 in 2026, or 100% of your pay if that is less. The calculator lowers the employer amount if it would go over.
What is the difference between a 403(b) and a 401(k)?
A 403(b) is for employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations (IRS Publication 571); a 401(k) is for other employers. They share the same yearly deferral and catch-up limits, but only a 403(b) has the 15-year catch-up.
Do the limits change every year?
Usually: the IRS adjusts them for inflation each year. The calculator keeps the 2026 limits for every future year, so for a long career it may cap your contributions a little low.