403(b) Calculator
Project your 403(b) balance at retirement from salary, your elective deferral, your employer contribution, expected return and years to retirement — with 2025 IRS limits applied automatically.
403(b) balance at retirement
£675,394.62
- Annual employee contribution
- £4,400.00
- Annual employer contribution
- £2,750.00
- Total annual addition
- £7,150.00
- Total contributed over horizon
- £214,500.00
- Employee contributed
- £132,000.00
- Employer contributed
- £82,500.00
- Investment growth
- £460,894.62
- Years until retirement
- 30
- Your elective deferral limit (2025)
- £23,500.00
Projects 30 years of $7150 annual additions ($4400 employee + $2750 employer) at 7% expected return using the ordinary-annuity formula FV = C · ((1+r)^n − 1) / r. Salary held constant; pre-tax balance shown — Traditional 403(b) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, Roth 403(b) qualified withdrawals are tax-free.
How to use this calculator
Enter your current age, the age you plan to retire, your annual salary, the percentage of salary you defer into your 403(b), the effective percentage of salary your employer adds (matching or non-elective), and an expected nominal annual return. The headline shows your projected 403(b) balance at retirement (pre-tax — Traditional 403(b) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income; Roth 403(b) qualified withdrawals are tax-free). The breakdown splits the total into employee versus employer contributions, total contributed over the horizon, and investment growth.
How the calculation works
A 403(b) is a tax-sheltered annuity plan offered by public schools, churches, and certain §501(c)(3) nonprofits. The calculator builds your annual contribution: salary × employee percentage, capped at the 2025 IRS elective deferral limit under §402(g) ($23,500 under 50, $31,000 with the §414(v) 50+ catch-up). Employer contribution is salary × employer percentage, with salary capped at the 2025 §401(a)(17) compensation limit of $350,000. The combined annual addition is capped at the §415(c) limit ($70,000, or $77,500 with catch-up). Future value uses the ordinary-annuity formula FV = C × ((1+r)^n − 1) / r, where C is the total annual addition, r is the expected annual return, and n is years to retirement. Salary is held constant.
Worked example
A 35-year-old teacher earning $55,000 contributes 8% of salary ($4,400/year) and the district adds an effective 5% non-elective contribution ($2,750/year). Total annual addition: $7,150. Over 30 years to age 65 at 7% expected return, FV = 7,150 × ((1.07)^30 − 1) / 0.07 = 7,150 × 94.461 = $675,394. Total contributed: $214,500 ($132,000 employee + $82,500 employer). Investment growth provides the remaining $460,894. Boosting the employee contribution from 8% to 15% — still well under the $23,500 cap — would raise total annual additions to $11,000 and lift the projected balance to about $1.04 million on the same assumptions.
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible for a 403(b) plan?
Section 403(b) plans are offered by public schools (K-12 districts, state universities, community colleges), churches and other religious organisations, and certain §501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits including most hospitals. Eligible employees are teachers, professors, school administrators, public-school support staff, ministers, hospital workers, and nonprofit employees. Private-sector employees of for-profit corporations get a 401(k) instead. The plan rules — contribution limits, vesting, distribution — are governed by IRC §403(b) and IRS Pub 571.
What are the 2025 403(b) contribution limits?
For 2025 the IRS limits employee elective deferrals to $23,500 under §402(g), with an additional $7,500 catch-up if you are 50 or older under §414(v) — so $31,000 total at age 50+. SECURE 2.0 also adds a "super catch-up" of $11,250 for anyone aged 60–63 in 2025, bringing their limit to $34,750. The combined limit on employee plus employer contributions (the §415(c) annual addition) is $70,000, or $77,500 with the 50+ catch-up. Only the first $350,000 of compensation counts under §401(a)(17). Source: IRS Notice 2024-80, November 2024.
What is the 403(b) "15-year service" catch-up?
Under §402(g)(7), employees with at least 15 years of service at the same eligible 403(b) employer (typically a public school or qualifying nonprofit) may be allowed an extra elective deferral of up to $3,000 per year, capped at $15,000 lifetime, on top of the standard $23,500. The plan document must permit it. If you qualify and your plan allows it, the calculator slightly under-states your annual cap — manually add the extra to your contribution percentage and the calculator will warn if you exceed the §415(c) total addition limit.
How does a 403(b) compare to a 401(k)?
Mechanically they are very similar: same $23,500 §402(g) elective deferral limit, same §414(v) 50+ catch-up, same §415(c) total annual addition limit, and the same future-value math. Differences: 403(b) is offered by public-sector and nonprofit employers (401(k) by private for-profits); 403(b) plans may allow the §402(g)(7) 15-year service catch-up that 401(k)s do not; 403(b) investment menus are historically narrower (mutual funds and annuity contracts) and have a reputation for higher fees, so check expense ratios; nondiscrimination testing rules differ (403(b) has no ADP test, but employer contributions must satisfy ACP testing).
Traditional 403(b) or Roth 403(b)?
Traditional 403(b) contributions are pre-tax — you deduct now and pay ordinary income tax on withdrawal. Roth 403(b) contributions are after-tax — qualified withdrawals (after 59½ and a 5-year holding period) are tax-free. Choose Traditional if you expect your retirement marginal rate to be lower than today, Roth if you expect it to be higher (younger savers, anyone in a low bracket now, or those who want tax diversification). The $23,500 deferral cap is combined across both — it is not a separate limit for each. Many plans now offer both alongside an employer match that is always pre-tax (Roth match was permitted by SECURE 2.0 but is not yet universal).
When can I withdraw from my 403(b)?
Penalty-free withdrawals start at age 59½. Earlier withdrawals face a 10% early-distribution penalty on top of income tax, with the usual §72(t) exceptions (Rule of 55 if you separate from the employer at 55+, hardship, SEPP, birth/adoption, qualified disaster, terminal illness, public-safety workers at 50, etc.). Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from Traditional 403(b)s begin at age 73 (for anyone born 1951–1959) or 75 (born 1960 or later) under SECURE 2.0; Roth 403(b) lifetime RMDs were eliminated starting 2024. See our RMD Calculator for the Uniform Lifetime Table factors.