How Much Should You Contribute to a 401(k)?
The honest answer has two parts: the minimum you should never go below, and the target that actually funds a retirement. Here is how to find both numbers for your salary.
Contribute at least enough to get the full employer match, commonly 6 percent of salary, then work toward 15 percent of income including the match. Raising your rate 1 point per year makes the target painless, and the calculator on this site shows what each rate means at retirement.
The floor: never skip the match
The minimum contribution is whatever captures 100 percent of your employer match. With the common 50 percent match up to 6 percent of salary, contributing 6 percent on a $75,000 salary gets you $2,250 of free money a year. Contributing 3 percent instead leaves $1,125 on the table every year, and that missing money would have compounded for decades.
Think of the match as a pay raise you only receive if you claim it. No investment in the plan beats a 50 or 100 percent instant return, which is exactly what matched dollars earn the day they land.
The target: 15 percent including the match
Fidelity and most planners suggest saving 15 percent of gross income for retirement, counting the employer match toward the total. With a 4 percent match, that means contributing 11 percent yourself. On a $75,000 salary, that is $8,250 a year from you plus $3,000 from your employer.
If 15 percent feels impossible today, use the 1 percent ladder: raise your contribution 1 point each year, ideally timed with raises so your paycheck never shrinks. Most people reach the target in a few years without feeling it.
When to go above 15 percent
High earners aiming for early retirement, late starters catching up, and anyone without a pension often need 20 percent or more. Workers 50 and older can also use IRS catch-up contributions, an extra amount above the standard annual limit, to close gaps fast.
Run the numbers for your situation with the free 401(k) calculator. Compare 10, 15, and 20 percent contribution rates side by side and see how many extra years of work each lower rate costs you.
Skip the arithmetic
See what your contribution rate grows to with the free 401(k) calculator.
401(k) contribution questions
Is 10 percent enough for a 401(k)?
Ten percent of salary plus a 4 to 6 percent employer match lands you near the 15 percent total that planners recommend. But 10 percent with no match is only 10 percent, which funds a modest retirement unless you start very young. Check where you land with the calculator, and bump the rate if the projected balance looks thin.
Should I max out my 401(k)?
The 2026 employee limit is high enough that most people cannot max out, and that is fine. Priority order for most savers: 401(k) to the full match, then HSA or Roth IRA for tax diversification, then back to the 401(k) up to the max. Maxing the 401(k) first makes sense mainly for high earners in high tax brackets.