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403(b) vs 457(b) Calculator

A 403(b) vs 457(b) calculator shows how a teacher's yearly saving fills the 403(b) first and sends the rest to the 457(b).

How much could my 403(b) and 457(b) grow?

The age you are or will turn by December 31, in whole years, because that is the age the IRS uses for catch-ups. We accept 18 to 74.

Your pay for a year before taxes, as a plain number like 70000, with no dollar sign or commas. Savings can't be more than pay. We accept $0 to $1,000,000.

The total you put toward retirement each month across both plans, like 2500. It fills the 403(b) first, up to its limit, and the rest goes to the 457(b). Type 0 for none. The most we accept is $10,000 a month.

The age you stop adding money, and the age we read the balance at. It has to be above your age this year. The most we accept is 75.

More options

What you already have saved in a 403(b), as a plain number. We count it as 403(b) money. Type 0 for none. The most we accept is $5,000,000.

The yearly growth rate you want to try, as a plain number like 7. It is an assumption, not a forecast, and it applies to both plans. We accept 0 to 15.

What the district adds to the 403(b), as a percent of your salary. It is paid in the years you put money in the 403(b). Type 0 for none. We accept 0 to 10.

The yearly fee the 403(b) takes, as a percent of its balance. Type 0 for none. We accept 0 to 3.

The yearly fee the 457(b) takes, as a percent of its balance. Type 0 for none. We accept 0 to 3.

How Does the 403(b) vs 457(b) Calculator Work?

The calculator splits each year's saving between the two plans, then grows each plan one month at a time. In the formula, i is the growth for one month, the yearly rate minus that plan's yearly fee, divided by 12 and written as a decimal.

balance = balance × (1 + i) + deposit

  1. Each year the 403(b) takes your saving first, up to its limit: $24,500 for 2026, plus the catch-up for your age, and never more than your pay.
  2. Whatever is left goes to the 457(b), up to its own separate limit with the same catch-up, and the two plans together never pass your pay. Anything that still does not fit is left out of the result, and a notice says how much.
  3. Catch-ups follow the age you reach by December 31 of each year of the projection. From age 50 the catch-up is $8,000. At ages 60 to 63 it is $11,250, which replaces the age 50 amount and does not add to it, and from 64 it goes back to $8,000.
  4. We hold the 2026 limits flat for every year, in today's dollars. The IRS usually raises most of them with inflation, so later limits are likely to be higher.
  5. Each year's saving goes in as 12 equal monthly deposits at the end of each month, and each plan grows monthly, the same way as the compound interest calculator. A balance you already have counts as 403(b) money.
  6. A match is a percent of your pay added to the 403(b) in any year you put money in it, and we trim it if your deferral up to the yearly limit plus the match would pass the $72,000 annual additions limit (age catch-ups do not count toward that limit, and the 457(b) is not part of it).
  7. The table shows the same plan every 5 years, and always the last year.
$2,500 a month from age 40 to 62 at 7% a year, shown every 5 years. The 2026 limits are held flat, the rate is an assumption, and history is not a forecast.
Age403(b)457(b)BalanceTotal put in
40$0$0$0$0
45$146,169$32,813$178,982$150,000
50$353,381$79,331$432,712$300,000
55$679,945$112,461$792,406$450,000
60$1,142,889$159,428$1,302,317$600,000
62$1,378,303$183,311$1,561,614$660,000

403(b) and 457(b) Rules for Teachers

403(b) vs 457(b): What's the Difference?

The difference between a 403(b) and a 457(b) is that they are separate plans with separate yearly limits, $24,500 and $24,500, and different early-withdrawal rules. Money put directly into a governmental 457(b) can come out after you leave the job without the 10% early-withdrawal tax. A 403(b) usually adds that tax before age 59½, unless you leave in or after the year you turn 55. Rapunzl's calculator fills the 403(b) first: $605,000 there and $55,000 in the 457(b) for the default plan.

Can Teachers Contribute to Both a 403(b) and a 457(b)?

Yes, a teacher can contribute to both a 403(b) and a 457(b) in the same year if the district offers both, because the IRS gives each its own limit. The 403(b) limit of $24,500 is shared with any 401(k) at another job. The 457(b) limit of $24,500 stands apart, so $49,000 a year before catch-ups. In Rapunzl's calculator the default plan saves $30,000 a year, so $5,500 a year goes to the 457(b) from age 40 through age 49.

What Is a Roth 403(b)?

A Roth 403(b) is a 403(b) option where the money you put in has already been taxed, so qualified withdrawals later come out without income tax. Roth and pre-tax deferrals share one limit, $24,500 for 2026, not $24,500 each. A newer rule makes catch-ups Roth if your Social Security wages from the plan sponsor passed $150,000 the year before, so employees in states outside Social Security are not covered. Governmental plans start in 2027 at the earliest. Rapunzl's calculator leaves this rule out.

What Are the 403(b) 15-Year and 457(b) Final-Years Catch-Ups?

The 403(b) 15-year and 457(b) final-years catch-ups are extra-contribution rules that Rapunzl's calculator leaves out. The 15-year rule needs at least 15 years with the same school employer and raises the 403(b) limit by the least of $3,000, $15,000 minus earlier 15-year amounts, and $5,000 times years of service minus earlier deferrals. The 457(b) rule allows up to twice the basic limit, $49,000, in any of the last 3 years before normal retirement age, never more than the basic limit plus unused earlier room, instead of the age catch-up. The plan must allow both.

Why Do Fees Matter in a 403(b)?

Fees matter in a 403(b) because the plan or its investments take a percent of the balance every year, and that money stops growing. Rapunzl's calculator has a yearly fee box for each plan in More options, and both start at 0. As an example only, a yearly fee of 1% on both plans takes the default result from $1,561,614 to $1,365,565, a gap of $196,049. The plan's own documents list the fees that apply.

Questions about the 403(b) vs 457(b) calculator

A 403(b) and a 457(b) are separate workplace retirement plans, each with its own yearly limit of $24,500 for 2026. A 403(b) can carry an employer match on top of its limit, and a governmental 457(b) lets you take money put in directly out after you leave the job without the 10% early-withdrawal tax. A 403(b) usually adds that tax before age 59½, unless you leave in or after the year you turn 55. For the default plan, saving $30,000 a year puts $1,378,303 in the 403(b) and $183,311 in the 457(b) by age 62, at an assumed 7% a year.

Yes, if the district offers both. The IRS gives each plan its own limit, so a teacher can defer up to $24,500 in the 403(b) and another $24,500 in the 457(b) in the same year, $49,000 in all before catch-ups, as long as the total is not more than pay. The 403(b) limit is shared with any 401(k) at another job, and the 457(b) limit is separate. In the default plan, saving $30,000 a year fills the 403(b) and sends $5,500 a year to the 457(b) from age 40 through age 49.

The 403(b) limit on what you can defer from your pay is $24,500 for 2026. If you turn 50 or older this year and the plan allows catch-ups, you can add $8,000, for $32,500. At ages 60 to 63 the catch-up is $11,250 instead, for $35,750. Pre-tax and Roth deferrals share this limit. Employer money sits on top of it, but your deferrals plus the employer's contributions cannot pass $72,000 or your pay, whichever is less, and catch-ups do not count toward that. A teacher with 15 or more years at the same school employer may also qualify for the 15-year catch-up of up to $3,000 a year, if the plan allows it.

Yes, usually once you leave the job. In a governmental 457(b) you can take money out after you leave at any age, and the 10% early-withdrawal tax does not apply to money put in directly. Regular income tax still applies to pre-tax money, and money rolled into the 457(b) from another plan keeps the 10% tax. The plan has to allow the withdrawal, and the IRS limits when money can come out of a 457(b): after you leave the job, in an unforeseeable emergency, or at age 59½. A 403(b) usually adds the 10% tax before age 59½, unless you leave the job in or after the year you turn 55. In the default plan $183,311 of the $1,561,614 sits in the 457(b), and the calculator counts that as early-access money.

Neither is better for every teacher, because it depends on the plans the district offers, what each plan invests in and charges, and whether the teacher expects to stay or leave before age 59½. A 403(b) can carry an employer match and the 15-year catch-up. A 457(b) adds a separate limit and, for a governmental plan, access without the 10% early-withdrawal tax after leaving the job. Fees can change the picture: in the default plan, a yearly fee of 1% on both plans lowers the result from $1,561,614 to $1,365,565. The calculator shows how the two plans share your saving, and the plan documents show what each one offers.

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Sources. IRS: How much salary can you defer if you're eligible for more than one retirement plan?: A person eligible for a 457(b) has a separate limit from the limit shared by 401(k), 403(b) and similar plans. IRS: Retirement topics, contributions: Roth deferrals count toward the same elective deferral limit as pre-tax deferrals. IRS: Retirement topics, exceptions to tax on early distributions: Distributions from a governmental 457(b) are not subject to the 10 percent additional tax, except for rolled-in money. IRS, COLA increases for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions: as of 2026 limits (page read October 17 2026). IRS Publication 571, Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans for Employees of Public Schools and Certain Tax-Exempt Organizations), section on the 15-year rule; IRC 402(g)(7): as of Pub 571 Rev. January 2026 (checked October 17 2026); fixed by statute, not indexed. IRC 457(b)(3) and Treas. Reg. 1.457-4(c)(3); greater-of rule in Treas. Reg. 1.457-4(c)(2)(ii) and IRC 414(v)(6)(C): as of statute and regulation (checked October 17 2026). IRS Notice 2025-67 (SECURE 2.0 section 603, IRC 414(v)(7)); final regulations T.D. 10033: as of 2026 contributions, judged on 2025 wages (checked October 17 2026). IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income (Tax on Early Distributions); IRS Retirement topics, Exceptions to tax on early distributions: as of Pub 575 (2025 returns, printed 6-Nov-2025) (checked October 17 2026). Figures last checked October 17 2026.

Each year's saving goes in as equal monthly deposits at the end of each month, and each plan grows monthly. The 2026 limits are held flat for every year, the rate is an assumption, results are before income tax and inflation, and history is not a forecast. The tool assumes a governmental 457(b), and it leaves out the 15-year and 457(b) final-years catch-ups and the Roth catch-up rule.

This calculator is for learning. It is not tax or investment advice. Each plan's own rules, set by the district and the plan provider, decide what you can contribute, what you can invest in and when you can take money out.

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