# How much will my 403(b) be worth?

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.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/403b-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/403b-calculator.json
- Version: ab8c68cb9452

## Default answer

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.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| age | Your age | Your age at the end of this year. The age in later years is this plus the years that pass. |
| retire | Retirement age | The age you stop contributing. Contributions run for (retirement age − your age) years. |
| balance | 403(b) balance today | What is in your 403(b) now. |
| salary | Yearly salary | Your pay this year, before tax. |
| pct | You contribute | The percent of your salary you put in, before the IRS limit. |
| match | Employer match | The percent of your contribution your employer adds, for example 50% or 100%. |
| cap | Match stops at | The employer matches your contributions only up to this percent of your salary. |
| rate | Expected yearly return | The yearly return, as the percent the balance grows in a year. It stays the same every year. |
| raise | Yearly raise | The percent your salary goes up at the start of each new year. |
| inflation | Prices rise each year by | The yearly inflation rate used to show the balance at retirement in today’s money. |
| service | Years of service with this employer | Full years of service at the end of this year with an employer that qualifies for the 15-year catch-up (a public school system, hospital, home health or health and welfare service agency, or church). Leave empty otherwise. |
| prior | Your deferrals with this employer before this year | All your elective deferrals to this employer’s plans in earlier years, catch-ups included. |
| used | 15-year catch-up already used | The 15-year catch-up amounts you used in earlier years (at most $15,000 in all). |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| total | At retirement you’ll have | The 403(b) balance at the end of the last month before retirement. |
| start | Balance today | The balance you start with. |
| yours | Your contributions | Everything you put in from now until retirement. |
| employer | Employer contributions | Everything your employer puts in from now until retirement. |
| growth | Investment growth | The balance at retirement minus today’s balance and all contributions. |
| real | In today’s money | The balance at retirement divided by (1 + inflation) to the power of the years. |
| yearYou | You put in this year | Your contribution this year, after the IRS limit. |
| yearEmployer | Your employer adds this year | Your employer’s contribution this year, after the IRS limits. |
| limit | Your IRS limit this year | The most you can put in this year: $24,500 plus any 15-year and age catch-ups (2026 limits). |
| special | 15-year catch-up this year | The part of your contribution this year that uses the 15-year catch-up. |

## 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.

## Assumptions

- 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

1. age = 30, retire = 31, balance = $0.00, salary = $60,000.00, pct = 10%, match = 50%, cap = 6%, rate = 0% gives total = $7,800.00, yearYou = $6,000.00, yearEmployer = $1,800.00, limit = $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).
2. age = 55, retire = 56, balance = $0.00, salary = $300,000.00, pct = 20%, match = 100%, cap = 6%, rate = 0% gives yearYou = $32,500.00, yearEmployer = $18,000.00, total = $50,500.00, limit = $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.
3. age = 45, retire = 46, balance = $0.00, salary = $100,000.00, pct = 30%, match = 0%, cap = 0%, rate = 0%, service = 20, prior = $90,000.00 gives yearYou = $27,500.00, limit = $27,500.00, special = $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.
4. age = 52, retire = 53, balance = $0.00, salary = $200,000.00, pct = 20%, match = 200%, cap = 25%, rate = 0%, service = 15, prior = $50,000.00 gives yearYou = $35,500.00, yearEmployer = $44,500.00, total = $80,000.00, special = $3,000.00, limit = $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.
5. age = 45, retire = 50, balance = $0.00, salary = $100,000.00, raise = 0%, pct = 30%, match = 0%, cap = 0%, rate = 0%, service = 15, prior = $70,000.00, used = $12,000.00 gives yours = $125,500.00, special = $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.
6. age = 30, retire = 40, balance = $10,000.00, salary = $50,000.00, raise = 0%, pct = 6%, match = 100%, cap = 6%, rate = 7% gives total = $105,197.38, yours = $30,000.00, employer = $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).

## FAQ

### 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.

## Sources

- Internal Revenue Service, Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (2026 elective deferral limit $24,500; age 50 catch-up $8,000; ages 60 to 63 $11,250; 15-year catch-up; annual additions $72,000; the example of Pat), retrieved 2026-10-02. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-403b-contribution-limits
- Internal Revenue Service, COLA increases for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions (2026 limits), retrieved 2026-10-02. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/cola-increases-for-dollar-limitations-on-benefits-and-contributions