403(b) Calculator

Estimate retirement savings while separating regular deferrals, the entered 15-year-service catch-up, age-based catch-up, employer contributions, and growth. Contributions are spread across monthly deposits rather than credited once per year.

Inputs

Instant calculation

Required

Current balanceUSDx ≥ 0

Annual salaryUSDx ≥ 0

Employee contribution%0 ≤ x ≤ 100

Age at the end of 2026years0 ≤ x ≤ 100; x ∈ ℤ

Employer match rate%0 ≤ x ≤ 500

Salary eligible for match%0 ≤ x ≤ 100

Eligible 403(b) 15-year catch-up amountEnter only the amount established by the plan administrator under the 15-year rule, up to $3,000 for 2026.USD/year0 ≤ x ≤ 3000

Prior-year FICA wages from this plan sponsorFor the 2026 contribution year, use 2025 FICA wages from the employer sponsoring this plan. Wages from unrelated employers are not combined.USDx ≥ 0

Plan permits Roth catch-up contributions

Annual salary growth%-100 ≤ x ≤ 100

Assumed annual IRS limit growth after 2026Future IRS limits are unknown. Enter an explicit assumption; 0% keeps all limits in 2026 nominal dollars.%0 ≤ x ≤ 20

Annual return%-99 ≤ x ≤ 100

Years to contributeyears1 ≤ x ≤ 80; x ∈ ℤ

Result

Instant calculation

Projected ending balance: $922,679.48
Employee contributions: $256,242.40
Employer contributions: $76,872.72
Regular employee deferrals: $256,242.40
403(b) service catch-up contributions: $0.00
Age-based catch-up contributions: $0.00
Projected investment growth: $539,564.36
Age catch-up allocated to Roth: $0.00
Projected Roth catch-up balance: $0.00
Catch-up excluded because Roth catch-up is unavailable: $0.00

Important

Starts with the 2026 $24,500 elective-deferral limit, $72,000 annual-additions limit, $8,000 age-50 catch-up, and $11,250 age-60-to-63 catch-up. Future limits and the $150,000 Roth catch-up wage threshold grow only by the explicit 0% assumption. Contributions are spread evenly across 12 month-end deposits rather than receiving a full year of growth. Catch-up contributions are modeled outside the annual-additions limit. The entered 15-year-service catch-up must be confirmed by the plan administrator and is applied before the age catch-up. Beginning with 2026, age-based catch-up contributions are assigned to the Roth bucket when projected prior-year FICA wages from this sponsor exceed the modeled threshold. If the plan is marked as not permitting Roth catch-up, that otherwise eligible catch-up is excluded rather than mislabeled as pre-tax. Plan terms, eligibility, vesting, payroll timing, Roth catch-up requirements, taxes, and fees can differ.

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How to use this calculator

Review IRS elective-deferral and annual-addition limits, 15-year catch-up eligibility, plan contract, vesting, annuity or fund fees, and tax treatment.

Read projected balance and separated regular, 15-year-service, age-based, required-Roth, unavailable-Roth, employer, and investment-growth totals.

Formula

Regular deferral uses the modeled $24,500 base limit plus up to the entered $3,000 service catch-up, followed by eligible age catch-up. Employer and regular additions observe the modeled $72,000 annual-additions limit.

Worked example

An eligible participant entering a $3,000 service catch-up can model that amount before any age-based catch-up, subject to salary and plan-administrator confirmation.

Assumptions and limits

The entered 15-year-service amount must come from the plan administrator. The separate 2026 Roth wage test applies to age-based catch-up, not the entered 15-year-service amount.
403(b) Calculator treats the entered values as estimates and does not infer missing project, account, or personal details.
Calculations retain working precision except where the cited method requires an intermediate rounding step; displayed values are then formatted separately. Source rules and dated rates must be rechecked when they change.

Sources

Internal Revenue Service: Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans)403(b) eligibility, contributions, and limits. Reviewed 2026-08-14.
Internal Revenue Service: Retirement Topics: Catch-Up Contributions2026 age-based catch-up limits and the prior-year wage test for required Roth catch-up treatment. Reviewed 2026-08-14.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Compound Interest CalculatorCompound-growth inputs and future-value concepts. Reviewed 2026-08-14.

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Verification

How this calculator is checked

Trust comes from reproducible evidence, not model confidence. You can inspect the formula, assumptions, worked example, and cited sources on this page.

Versioned calculationFormula logic is kept separate from the interface and covered by automated registry and behavior checks.
Cited evidenceSources linked for independent checking: 3.
Transparent AI useAI may assist drafting or adversarial review. Agreement between models is not proof, and no human expert review is claimed unless a named reviewer is shown.

Frequently asked questions

How does the 403(b) Calculator work?

What information should I enter in the 403(b) Calculator?

Enter current balance, salary, employee rate, age, match formula, administrator-confirmed service catch-up, prior-year sponsor FICA wages, plan Roth catch-up availability, salary and limit growth, return, and years, then verify IRS elective-deferral and annual-addition limits, 15-year catch-up eligibility, plan contract, vesting, annuity or fund fees, and tax treatment.

What should I verify before using this 403(b) Calculator result?

The entered 15-year-service amount must come from the plan administrator. The separate 2026 Roth wage test applies to age-based catch-up, not the entered 15-year-service amount.

Last updated 2026-08-25 · 2026-monthly-retirement-projection-v4 · content-2026-08-14 · Published by YunFanLabs

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