Free 403(b) savings calculator
Project your 403(b) retirement savings for schools and nonprofits — contributions, employer match, and the unique 15-year-service catch-up, updated live, as you type.
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Estimates only, based on a constant real return and steady saving. Not financial advice.
Results are estimates. Consult a professional.
What is a 403(b) plan, and who is it for?
A 403(b) plan is a tax-advantaged workplace retirement account for employees of public schools, colleges, churches, hospitals, and other tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. This 403(b) savings calculator projects what your account grows to by retirement once you add a monthly contribution, an expected return, and any employer match — the balance updates the moment you change an input. If you teach, nurse, or work for a nonprofit, the 403(b) is usually the plan you are offered instead of a 401(k).
The two plans are close cousins. Both let you defer up to $23,500 of salary in 2025 before tax, both grow tax-deferred, and both share the same age-50 catch-up. The differences are who can use them and a few rules unique to the 403(b) — most notably a 15-years-of-service catch-up that no 401(k) participant can ever claim. We work through that, and a full projection, below.
How a 403(b) projection is calculated
Your 403(b) balance is just compound growth applied month by month: each month your existing balance earns a slice of your annual return, then your contribution and any employer match are added. Repeat that for every month until retirement and you have the projected nest egg.
That match formula matters because school-district 403(b) plans often have no match, while hospital and university plans frequently match 50–100% up to a few percent of salary. The 2025 elective-deferral cap of $23,500 is set by the IRS and applies to your own contributions, not the employer's.
IRS — 401(k) limit increases to $23,500 for 2025 (IR-2024-285): the $23,500 elective-deferral limit applies to 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans; age-50 catch-up is $7,500.How to use the 403(b) savings calculator
- Current age and retirement age. The gap between them sets how many months of compounding you get. Pushing retirement back even a few years has an outsized effect late in the projection.
- Current savings. Any balance already in your 403(b) (or rolled in from a prior plan). It compounds from day one.
- Monthly contribution. Your own salary deferral. Keep your yearly total at or under the $23,500 limit for 2025 (about $1,958/month) unless you qualify for a catch-up.
- Expected return. A long-run average for your fund mix. 6–7% is a common planning figure for a stock-heavy portfolio; lower it if you hold mostly bonds or fixed annuities.
- Employer match %, match cap, and salary. Together these size the free money. The match is paid only up to the cap (a percentage of salary), so contributing at least to the cap is the highest-return move in the whole plan.
A worked 403(b) example
Priya is 35, plans to retire at 65, and already has $50,000 in her 403(b). She contributes $500/month, expects a 7% annual return, and her employer matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of her $60,000 salary. These are the calculator's default inputs.
Step 1 — Size the employer match
Priya contributes $6,000 a year, but the match cap is 6% of $60,000 = $3,600. The employer matches 50% of that capped amount: 50% × $3,600 = $1,800 a year ($150/month). The $2,400 she contributes above the cap is still hers — it just earns no match.
Step 2 — Compound monthly to age 65
Over 30 years (360 months) at 7%, each month her balance grows by 7% ÷ 12, then $500 + $150 is added. The calculator runs all 360 steps instantly.
Step 3 — Read the result
Drop the match to 0 (a typical school-district 403(b)) and the same contributions project to roughly $1,015,810 — about $183,000 less, the entire value of the forgone match compounded for three decades. That gap is the clearest argument for always contributing at least up to your employer's cap.
2025 403(b) contribution limits and catch-ups
The table sets out every 2025 limit that can apply to a 403(b). The two regular limits match the 401(k); the 15-years-of-service catch-up is the one feature unique to 403(b) plans.
| Limit (2025) | Amount | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Elective deferral | $23,500 | Everyone in a 403(b) |
| Age-50 catch-up | +$7,500 | Participants 50 and older |
| SECURE 2.0 super catch-up | +$11,250 | Ages 60–63 (replaces the $7,500 in those years) |
| 15-years-of-service catch-up | +$3,000/yr | 15+ years with the same qualifying employer (see below) |
2025 IRS limits. The 15-year-service catch-up is unique to 403(b) plans. Source: IRS IR-2024-285 and the IRS 403(b) contribution-limits page.
The 15-years-of-service catch-up lets long-tenured employees of schools, hospitals, churches, and certain other 403(b) sponsors add up to $3,000 extra per year, capped at a $15,000 lifetime total and limited by a $5,000-per-year-of-service formula. Crucially, it can stack with the age-50 catch-up — so a long-serving employee over 50 can use both at once, something no 401(k) participant can do.
IRS — 403(b) contribution limits: the special 15-years-of-service catch-up is the lesser of $3,000, $15,000 reduced by prior such deferrals, or $5,000 × years of service minus prior elective deferrals.403(b) vs. 401(k) vs. 457(b)
If you work for a government or a hospital you may even be offered two plans at once — a 403(b) and a 457(b) — each with its own $23,500 limit. Knowing how the three differ tells you which to fund first.
| Feature | 403(b) | 401(k) | 457(b) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical employer | Schools, nonprofits, hospitals | Private companies | State/local government |
| 2025 deferral limit | $23,500 | $23,500 | $23,500 |
| Special catch-up | 15-years-of-service (+$3,000) | None | Final-3-years (up to 2×) |
| 10% penalty before 59½ | Yes | Yes | No (governmental, after separation) |
All three share the 2025 $23,500 elective-deferral limit but differ on catch-ups and the early-withdrawal penalty.
Project the company-plan version with the 401(k) calculator, or the government deferred-comp version with the 457 savings calculator. If your employer matches the 403(b), funding it to the cap usually comes before an unmatched 457(b).
403(b) mistakes that quietly cost you
- High-fee annuity products. Many school-district 403(b) menus are dominated by insurance annuities with surrender charges and expense ratios well above 1%. Over 30 years a 1% fee drag can erase a six-figure slice of the projection — this calculator shows gross growth and does not subtract fees.
- Leaving the match on the table. Contributing below your employer's cap forfeits guaranteed money. In the worked example, that was $54,000 plus its growth.
- Assuming a 457(b)'s penalty rules. A 403(b) follows the 401(k) rule: withdrawals before age 59½ generally trigger the 10% early-distribution penalty. The penalty-free-after-separation feature belongs to governmental 457(b) plans, not 403(b)s.
- Overstating returns. A 9–10% input flatters the result. Long-run planning numbers of 6–7% are more defensible, especially after fees.
Accuracy, assumptions, and sources
This 403(b) savings calculator compounds your balance monthly at a constant return, adds your contribution and the capped employer match each month, and reports both the nominal nest egg and an inflation-adjusted figure (3% default). It assumes a steady contribution, a fixed return, and no fees or taxes on growth — so treat the output as a planning estimate, not financial advice. Real returns vary, annuity fees reduce balances, and your own limits depend on your age and service. Confirm current limits and catch-up eligibility with the IRS or a qualified adviser before acting.
IRS — 401(k) limit increases to $23,500 for 2025 (IR-2024-285).IRS — Retirement topics: 403(b) contribution limits (elective deferral, age-50 catch-up, 15-years-of-service catch-up).Frequently asked questions about the free 403(b) savings calculator
About this 403(b) savings calculator
This 403(b) savings calculator projects what a public-school, hospital, or nonprofit employee's tax-sheltered plan grows to by retirement, compounding your monthly contribution and any capped employer match at your expected return. It uses the 2025 IRS elective-deferral limit and flags the 15-years-of-service catch-up that is unique to 403(b) plans.
It is one of our retirement calculators; browse the full library on the all calculators page. Figures are planning estimates, not financial advice.