How the 401(k) Match Maximizer works
We estimate how much of your employer’s 401(k) match you’re capturing versus leaving behind, and what that gap would grow to by retirement if it went unclaimed each year.
Step by step
- Your contribution = salary × your contribution rate.
- Matchable pay = salary × the employer’s match-limit rate; matchable contribution is the smaller of your contribution and that cap.
- Employer match = matchable contribution × the employer’s match rate. The full match available = the cap × the match rate.
- Unclaimed match = full match − the match you’re getting.
- We grow that unclaimed match as a yearly deposit to retirement at the assumed return (future value of an annuity).
The math
employerMatch = min(salary·yourPct, salary·limitPct)·matchRate; maxMatch = salary·limitPct·matchRate; unclaimed = max(0, maxMatch − employerMatch); futureCost = unclaimed · ((1+r)^years − 1) ÷ r.
Sources & assumptions
- Standard employer-match mechanics and the public-domain future-value-of-an-annuity formula. The growth rate is a shown, configurable assumption.
Note: Nothing proprietary.
- An educational estimate of employer-match mechanics using the figures and a growth assumption shown with your results; it is not advice. Confirm your plan’s match formula and IRS contribution limits.