457 Calculator

How this 457 calculator projects your balance

A 457(b) is the deferred compensation plan offered by state and local governments (police, firefighters, teachers, city and county staff) and by some nonprofits. This 457 calculator projects your balance year by year: it takes your deferral as a percent of salary, caps it at the IRS limit ($24,500 for 2026), adds any employer contribution, and grows the balance monthly at your expected return. From age 50 the cap rises by the $8,000 catch-up, and at ages 60 to 63 by the larger $11,250 catch-up instead.

Worked example

A 35-year-old county employee earns $70,000 and defers 10%, which is $7,000 a year. There is no employer contribution, no starting balance and no raise. At a 7% return, 25 years of deferrals reach about $456,800 by age 60. Only $175,000 of that came out of paychecks; about $281,800 is investment growth.

Now a 45-year-old earning $100,000 defers 20% ($20,000) and the employer adds 100% up to 5% of pay ($5,000). Together that is $25,000, which is over the $24,500 limit, so the employer amount is cut to $4,500. In a 401(k) the full $5,000 would fit, because there employer money falls under the much higher $72,000 combined limit.

457(b) rules that differ from a 401(k)

• A separate limit. The 457(b) limit is not shared with a 401(k) or 403(b). Someone with both a 403(b) and a 457(b) can defer $24,500 into each in 2026.
• Employer money counts toward the cap. In a 457(b), employee and employer contributions together may not exceed the annual limit. The calculator applies that cap for you.
• No 10% early withdrawal penalty. Money from a governmental 457(b) can be taken after you leave the job at any age. It is taxed as income, but without the 10% additional tax that applies to a 401(k) before 59½ (except on money rolled in from another plan type).
• Special 3-year catch-up. In the three years before the plan's normal retirement age, you may be able to defer up to twice the annual limit ($49,000 in 2026) if you under-contributed in earlier years. It cannot be combined with the age-50 catch-up in the same year, and the calculator does not model it.

Common mistakes

Assuming the employer contribution sits on top of the limit is the most common one in 457 plans. Another is treating the return as fixed: try 5% and 9% to see the range. Non-governmental 457(b) plans, offered by some tax-exempt employers, do not allow the age-50 catch-up, and their money stays available to the employer's creditors until it is paid out, so check which kind you have. Sources: IRS “IRC 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans”, IRS Notice 2025-67 (2026 limits) and IRS Publication 575 (Pension and Annuity Income).