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Final working years

Savings Rate Comparison

Compare your current savings rate with a higher one, such as the full 401(k) with catch-up contributions, over your last working years, and see how each changes the portfolio you retire with and the age you can stop.

How to Use This Calculator

  1. 1

    Enter where you stand

    Your age, the age you plan to stop working, your salary and what your retirement accounts and other investments hold today. Include a spouse’s accounts if you retire on one shared portfolio.

  2. 2

    Enter what you save now

    Your own contributions as a percentage of pay (401(k), IRA, and any regular saving into a brokerage account), and your employer’s contribution as a separate percentage.

  3. 3

    Choose the higher plan

    Either a percentage of pay you could reach, or the full 401(k) for your age each year: $32,500 at 50 to 59 and at 64 and over, and $35,750 at 60 to 63 in 2026.

  4. 4

    Set the target

    The yearly spending your portfolio must fund after Social Security and any pension, and the withdrawal rate you are comfortable with. The target portfolio is spending divided by that rate.

  5. 5

    Read the two dates

    The calculator shows the age at which each plan reaches the target, the portfolio each one leaves you at your planned age, and the yearly spending that portfolio supports.

2026 401(k) and IRA limits by age

401(k), 403(b), 457(b) deferral, under 50
$24,500
Ages 50 to 59, and 64 or older
$32,500 ($8,000 catch-up)
Ages 60 to 63
$35,750 ($11,250 catch-up)
IRA, under 50
$7,500
IRA, 50 or older
$8,600
HSA catch-up, 55 or older
+$1,000

Your age for these limits is the age you reach by December 31. Employer contributions do not count against the employee limit.

Why the last few years count for more than they seem

Near retirement the savings rate works on two levers at once. Each extra dollar saved adds to the portfolio, and each extra year of saving is one fewer year the portfolio has to pay for. With a large balance already in place, growth does most of the work; the higher savings rate usually moves the date by a year or two rather than a decade, and that is often exactly the margin that matters.

How Does a Higher Savings Rate Change Your Retirement Date?

It moves the date by the time it takes the extra saving, plus its growth, to close the gap to your target. The calculator runs two plans side by side from your current age. Each year, the portfolio grows at your return, then receives your own saving and your employer's contribution:

Next year's portfolio = portfolio × (1 + return) + your saving + employer contribution

Target portfolio = yearly spending from the portfolio ÷ withdrawal rate

The retirement age for each plan is the first birthday at which the portfolio reaches the target. The calculator also reports the portfolio each plan leaves at the age you planned to stop, and the yearly spending that portfolio would support at your withdrawal rate. Those two views answer the two questions people actually ask: can I stop sooner, and if I stop when I planned, how much more can I spend?

With the defaults (age 58, $180,000 salary, $1,100,000 saved, 10% of pay plus a 4% employer contribution, $70,000 a year to fund at 4%), the current plan reaches the $1,750,000 target at 67. Saving the full 401(k) with catch-ups reaches it at 65 and leaves about $129,000 more at 65.

What Are the 2026 Catch-Up Contribution Limits?

From 50 you can add a catch-up on top of the regular limit, and from 60 to 63 a larger one. The age that counts is the age you reach by the end of the calendar year (IRS, 2026).

2026 employee contribution limits by age
Age in 2026401(k), 403(b), 457(b)IRA
Under 50$24,500$7,500
50 to 59$32,500$8,600
60 to 63$35,750$8,600
64 and older$32,500$8,600

A married couple who both work can each contribute these amounts to their own plans. Four years at the higher 60 to 63 limit add $13,000 more than the ordinary catch-up would, per person, before any growth. Not every plan offers the higher catch-up, so check with your plan administrator before counting on it. The limits are indexed and usually rise each year; the calculator holds them at the 2026 level, which is a reasonable approximation in today's dollars.

Why Does Extra Saving Matter Less Than It Used To?

Because at this stage your existing balance earns more each year than you can add. A $1,100,000 portfolio earning 4% after inflation grows by $44,000 in a year, more than the full 401(k) at any age. That is why doubling a savings rate at 58 does not double the result: it adds a steady amount on top of growth that is already large.

The effect on the date is still real, for two reasons. First, the extra saving arrives exactly when the portfolio is closest to the target, so a modest amount can cover the last stretch. Second, every year of work you add is a year of spending the portfolio no longer has to fund, and often a year of delayed Social Security. A plan that falls $100,000 short at 65 is not a plan that fails; it is a plan that needs a higher savings rate, a later date, slightly lower spending, or some mix of the three. The calculator lets you try each.

How Do Roth Catch-Ups Affect Higher Earners?

If your FICA wages from the employer sponsoring the plan were over $150,000 last year, your catch-up contributions must be made as Roth contributions (IRS Notice 2025-67; final regulations). The first $24,500 can still be pre-tax. So a 61-year-old earning $200,000 who saves the full $35,750 deducts $24,500 and puts $11,250 in as Roth.

For many people nearing retirement this is a useful accident. A large traditional balance means large required minimum distributions from 73, or 75 if born in 1960 or later, which can push income into higher brackets and Medicare surcharges. Roth money in the plan is not subject to lifetime required distributions and can be drawn tax-free, which gives you room to manage taxable income in retirement. The guide to Roth conversions before RMDs covers the same trade-off from the other direction.

Where Does the Money for a Higher Rate Come From?

Most often from costs that are ending anyway. The late 50s and early 60s are when many households finish paying for children's education, pay off a mortgage, or stop supporting an adult child. Redirecting those amounts to the 401(k) before they are absorbed into everyday spending is the easiest way to raise the rate. Other common sources:

  • Bonuses and raises. Raise the contribution percentage before the first larger paycheck arrives.
  • Extra mortgage payments. If the mortgage will be paid off before retirement anyway, the 401(k) may be the better home for the money until then, especially at pre-tax rates.
  • A trial run of the retirement budget. Living on your planned retirement income for the last two or three years tests the budget and frees the difference to save.

A higher pre-tax contribution also lowers this year's tax bill, so take-home pay falls by less than the contribution rises. The guide to maxing out your 401(k) walks through the order of accounts.

What Does the Calculation Leave Out?

  • Market risk. The return is the same every year. Real returns vary, and a fall just before retirement can move the date more than the savings rate does. Treat the ages as estimates and keep a margin.
  • Taxes. The spending figure is gross: withdrawals from traditional accounts are taxed as income, so include that tax in what you enter.
  • Social Security timing. Retiring earlier or later changes when benefits start and how large they are. Adjust the spending the portfolio must fund if your claiming age moves; the guide to claiming Social Security weighs the choice.
  • Health insurance before 65. Retiring before Medicare means paying for coverage yourself; add it to the spending figure for those years. The Medicare and IRMAA guide covers what changes at 65.
  • Account types. Every dollar earns the same return whether it sits in a 401(k), IRA or taxable account.

For the full picture of what you need, start with the guide to how much you need to retire.

How this calculator works

Method and assumptions

  • Two plans run side by side from the same starting portfolio. Each year the balance grows by your return, then that year’s own saving and the employer contribution are added at the end of the year.
  • The current plan saves your current percentage of pay. The higher plan saves either a higher percentage of pay or the full 401(k) for the age you are that year: $24,500, $32,500 from 50, or $35,750 at 60 to 63, never more than your pay. The employer contribution is the same percentage of pay in both.
  • The target is your yearly spending divided by your withdrawal rate (for example $70,000 at 4% needs $1,750,000). The retirement age for each plan is the first year-end its balance reaches the target, checked up to age 80.
  • Everything is in today’s dollars: the return and pay growth you enter are after inflation, and the IRS limits are held at their current level on the assumption that they rise with inflation.

What it leaves out

  • Income tax is ignored: a pre-tax 401(k) dollar and a Roth or taxable dollar count the same, and the target is a pre-tax balance.
  • Returns are a steady average every year, with no market swings or sequence-of-returns risk.
  • Social Security, pensions, healthcare before 65 and the Roth-only catch-up rule for higher earners do not change the target or the balances; the Roth rule is only flagged.
  • The higher-percentage option is not capped at the 401(k) limit, so it assumes any excess goes to an IRA or taxable account.

Methodology reviewed · Uses 2026 tax and benefit figures · For education, not individual advice

Savings Rate and Catch-Up FAQs

How much can I put in a 401(k) in my late 50s and early 60s?

$32,500 a year from 50 to 59, and $35,750 from 60 to 63, in 2026. The base deferral is $24,500; the catch-up is $8,000 from 50, and a higher $11,250 for the years in which you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 (IRS, 2026). At 64 the catch-up returns to $8,000. The same limits apply to 403(b) plans, most 457(b) plans and the federal Thrift Savings Plan. Employer contributions are on top, up to a combined $72,000 before catch-ups.

Do my catch-up contributions have to be Roth?

Yes, if your prior-year FICA wages from the employer that sponsors the plan were above $150,000. SECURE 2.0 requires those catch-up contributions to be designated Roth; the $150,000 threshold applies to 2026 catch-ups (IRS Notice 2025-67). The final regulations generally apply from 2027, and plans follow a good-faith reading of the law before then (IRS). The rule changes how the catch-up is taxed, not how much you can save. Roth dollars in a 401(k) are not subject to required minimum distributions during your lifetime, which helps later.

Is it worth raising my savings rate with only five years left to work?

Usually, because the benefit is mostly in the date rather than the balance. With a large portfolio already in place, growth does most of the work and extra saving adds a modest amount. But each year you work and save is also a year the portfolio does not have to pay for. In the calculator’s example, moving from 10% of pay to the full 401(k) at 58 reaches the target at 65 instead of 67. Run your own figures: the answer depends on how close you already are.

What savings rate should I aim for in my last working years?

There is no single right number. Work backward from the target: the spending your portfolio must fund after Social Security and pensions, divided by a withdrawal rate you trust. If your current rate reaches that target by your planned age, the higher rate buys margin. If it does not, the calculator shows whether the full 401(k) closes the gap or whether you also need to work a year longer, spend less, or both.

Should I save more or pay off the mortgage before retiring?

Take any employer match first; it is an immediate return nothing else matches. After that, compare the mortgage rate with what the savings would earn after tax, and weigh how much a paid-off house lowers the spending your portfolio must fund. Pre-tax 401(k) contributions also cut this year’s tax, often at a higher rate than you will pay in retirement. Many people nearing retirement do both: fill the 401(k), then use a bonus or downsizing proceeds to clear the balance. The mortgage payoff calculator shows the interest saved.

Where does extra saving go once the 401(k) is full?

An IRA, an HSA if you have a high-deductible health plan, then a taxable account. An IRA takes up to $8,600 at 50 or older in 2026; at higher incomes that may mean a nondeductible contribution or a backdoor Roth. An HSA adds a $1,000 catch-up from 55, but contributions stop once you enroll in Medicare (IRS Publication 969). A taxable brokerage account has no limit and gives you money you can reach before 59½ without penalty.

Does the calculator account for inflation and taxes?

It works in today’s dollars. Enter a return after inflation (4% is a common planning figure for a balanced portfolio) and real pay growth, and the results read as today’s purchasing power. IRS limits rise with inflation, so holding them at the current level is a fair approximation in today’s dollars. The calculator does not model taxes: the spending figure is what you withdraw before tax, so size it to cover income tax on traditional 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.

What if I have a pension or plan to delay Social Security?

Subtract the pension and your expected Social Security from spending before you enter the figure the portfolio must fund. Delaying Social Security past full retirement age raises your benefit by 8% for each year up to 70 if you were born in 1943 or later (SSA), which lowers the spending the portfolio has to fund once it starts. The bridge years before it starts need to be paid from savings, so a higher savings rate now and a later claim often work together.

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