Vocations · Professional Development · Benefits

Part of your pay
only shows up
if you ask for it.

Type your salary, what you put in and the plan’s match formula. The calculator shows what the employer adds, what you are leaving behind, and what that difference grows to over the years.

Value my matchWhat you get

The match calculator

The worked example is made up: a $52,000 salary, 3% put in, and a match of 100% on the first 3% of pay and 50% on the next 2%. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

Loading the calculator. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentFree

What you finish with
The employer match a year at what you put in now, the match left unclaimed and the share of pay that claims all of it, a table of contribution levels, and what a year’s contributions and the unclaimed match grow to at the return you assume. It prints as a one-page summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
New employees and interns enrolling in a workplace plan, young adults comparing job offers, working adults checking their benefits, and career and personal finance teachers.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Type your yearly salary and the share of pay you put in now.
  2. Type the match formula from your plan documents: the match rate and the share of pay it applies to, and a second tier if there is one.
  3. Read the match a year and anything left unclaimed.
  4. Try a few returns and numbers of years to see the range.
  5. Print the summary or download the spreadsheet.

Value my match

How the match is worked out

Each tier applies to its own slice of pay.

What you put in (light) and the match on top, by share of pay, $52,000 salary0%1%2%3%4%5%6%7%You (light) and the match on top0%1%2%3%4%5%6%7%
The match stops growing at 5% of pay: 100% on the first 3% and 50% on the next 2%. At 3% the employer adds $1,560; at 5% it adds $2,080.

The arithmetic

The first tier matches your contribution up to its share of pay at its rate; the second tier matches the next slice at its own rate. At 3% of a $52,000 salary under 100% on 3% and 50% on the next 2%, the employer adds 3% × 100% of pay, $1,560; at 5% it adds $1,560 plus 2% × 50%, $2,080. Growth uses the future value of a yearly amount added at the end of each year at a steady return.

Before you count it as yours

Your own contributions are always yours. Employer contributions follow the plan’s vesting schedule; federal law allows a cliff of up to three years or a graded schedule of up to six, so leaving a job early can mean leaving some of the match behind. The IRS also sets a yearly limit on what you can put in. Returns are an assumption: markets go down as well as up, and fees reduce growth.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. What You Should Know About Your Retirement Plan (dol.gov/ebsa): matching contributions, vesting and the summary plan description.
  2. Internal Revenue Code 26 U.S.C. 411(a)(2)(B): vesting of employer contributions in defined contribution plans (3-year cliff or 2-to-6-year graded).
  3. Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Plan Overview and COLA Increases for Dollar Limitations on Benefits and Contributions (irs.gov): the yearly contribution limits.
  4. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. Compound Interest Calculator and guidance on assumed returns and fees.

The worked example is made up. Growth uses the steady return you assume; real returns vary and can be negative. This is arithmetic, not investment advice. Your figures stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.