Retirement contribution per paycheck
Enrollment forms ask for a percentage. Your budget runs on dollars. This shows what a percentage of your salary actually takes out of each check, and adds up to over a year.
Enter a salary and a percentage
How the math works
Salary × percentage = the yearly contribution. Divide by the number of checks for the per-check amount. Because traditional 401(k) and similar contributions come out before tax, the dent in your take-home is smaller than the contribution itself: roughly 75 to 80 cents of take-home for every dollar contributed, depending on your bracket.
When you'd use it
• Open enrollment, when the form asks for a percentage and you need to know what it costs.
• Deciding whether you can afford to bump your contribution by a point or two.
• Making sure you're contributing enough to get your employer's full match (there's a calculator for that too).
Contributing more is easier when the salary underneath it is right. See whether yours is, in two minutes, free.
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What It Pays™ provides pay data and tools for informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal, tax, financial, or employment advice. Salary figures are estimates drawn from government-published data and may not reflect any specific employer or offer.