Increase Contributions
See how an extra 1%, 2%, 3% ... 10% of salary could compound into real monthly retirement income.
Your increase
$13,700 of IRS cap remaining.
Choose how to allocate the extra dollars above your current rate.
Added balance by age 65
$257,535
That could mean roughly $858/mo in retirement income — from this one change.
From the increase alone — your existing 401(k) balance is not included.
Extra monthly retirement income
$858
Based on a 4% withdrawal rate.
Extra yearly retirement income
$10,301
The monthly estimate annualized.
Monthly pay reduction
-$117/mo
Estimated reduction in your take-home pay.
Added balance at retirement
$18,589
Added balance at retirement
$81,555
Added balance at retirement
$257,535
Only the extra dollars from your increase — not your full 401(k).
Ready to see the full picture? Layer this increase onto your current balance, Roth strategy, and full retirement plan.
Models only extra dollars from the increase. Uses flat salary, midpoint contributions, fixed annual return, a 4% withdrawal-rate income estimate, the current-age IRS cap for the full projection, and a 22% tax offset for traditional dollars.
Leaving match dollars on the table usually matters more than optimizing the next 1%–5%.
Employer match explained →Turning 50 later does not raise the modeled cap. The projection stays anchored to the current-age limit.
A higher rate works best when emergency savings and high-interest debt are in a healthy place.
A focused answer to one question: what does a higher savings rate add on its own?
Models only the extra dollars from the increase — not your full retirement plan.
Compare 1-year, 5-year, and until-retirement scenarios to see how consistency compounds.
Uses the employee contribution cap for your current age and holds it constant.
Common next steps after testing a higher savings rate.
Full projection
Combine this increase with your current balance, spending goals, and broader plan assumptions.
Open this next →Benchmark check
Check whether your current savings path is directionally on track for your age.
Open this next →Contribution guide
A practical guide to choosing a 401(k) contribution percentage that fits your budget and goals.
Open this next →Employer match
A straightforward breakdown of employer match mechanics so you can avoid leaving compensation behind.
Open this next →Assumptions and tradeoffs most likely to come up while using this page.
No. This calculator isolates the increase itself and treats the extra dollars like a separate stream of contributions starting from zero. That keeps the result focused on what the change alone adds.
Use the full calculator for a full projection →No. This page intentionally freezes the employee contribution cap at the limit that applies to your current age. If you are already catch-up eligible today, that higher cap is included from the start. If you are not, the model does not step up later.
See your retirement-by-age benchmark to explore age related limits and catch-up eligibility →The page turns the added balance into an income estimate with a simple 4% withdrawal-rate rule of thumb. That makes the result easier to interpret, but it is not personalized retirement-income advice.
Review the methodology →Not fully. The paycheck-impact card uses a simplified estimate so the tradeoff stays easy to understand. Roth dollars reduce take-home pay more directly, while traditional dollars get a rough tax offset in the model.
Compare Roth vs Traditional →Use this page when your question is what a modest contribution increase alone adds. Use the main calculator when you want the broader retirement-planning answer, including balances, spending goals, and more detailed assumptions.
Open the full calculator →