401(k), IRA & Roth
A 457(b) calculator for the final years before retirement
A 457(b) calculator for police, firefighters, teachers and other public employees: project deferred compensation savings, including the special catch-up in the last three years before normal retirement age.
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What is the 457(b) special catch-up?
In the three years before the plan's normal retirement age, a 457(b) participant who under-contributed in earlier years may defer up to twice the normal limit, $49,0002026 · IRS in 2026 compared with $24,5002026 · IRS. It cannot be combined with the age 50 catch-up in the same year.
Three years out from a public-sector retirement date
Public employees often know their pension date years in advance. As it approaches, they want to maximize savings, and colleagues mention the special catch-up. Others ask because they want to retire before 59½ and have heard governmental 457(b) withdrawals avoid the early-withdrawal penalty.
What the client types into a search box
“how much can I put in my 457 before I retire”
How a client works through it
Enter balance and contribution
Current balance and annual contribution.
Apply the special catch-up
Switch it on if the client is in the final three years before normal retirement age.
Set growth assumptions
Contribution increase, return and years to retirement.
See the result
Projected balance, total contributed, growth and the year-one limit check.
What lands in your inbox
When a client asks your firm to review the result, the request arrives as a contact record with their inputs and results attached, by email and, on paid plans, by webhook to your CRM.
Received
Balance, contribution, contribution growth and the catch-up switch show proximity to retirement and appetite to save. Use of the special catch-up implies retirement within three years, a time-sensitive planning moment involving pension elections and Social Security.
What does the year-one check tell a participant?
Year-1 Deferral vs 2026 Limit compares the first year's contribution with the limit that applies, the regular limit or the special catch-up maximum. Balance at Retirement, Total Contributed and Investment Growth show the outcome.
For clients in the catch-up window, the projection is short, so contributions drive most of the result rather than growth.
Results shown: Balance at Retirement · Total Contributed · Investment Growth · First-Year Contribution · Years · Year-1 Deferral vs 2026 Limit.
Why do public-sector clients need a 457(b) specialist?
457(b) plans have rules found nowhere else: the special catch-up, no early-withdrawal penalty for governmental plans after separation, and separate limits that stack with a 403(b). Getting them right adds real money for clients, and they know generalists often miss them.
Firms serving teachers, first responders and municipal workers can make the calculator a centerpiece.
Follow-ups this request opens
- Confirm under-contribution history for the special catch-up
- Coordinate 457(b) and 403(b) contributions
- Plan withdrawals before 59½ for early retirees
- Review pension options alongside 457(b) savings
What this calculator leaves out
- Does not check under-contribution history needed for the special catch-up.
- Governmental vs tax-exempt 457(b) differences are not modeled.
- Limits flagged, not enforced; taxes ignored.
- Constant return.
Platform disclaimer shown under the calculator: Estimates only. Assumes constant return. The 2026 457(b) deferral limit is $24,500; the special final-3-years catch-up can raise it to $49,000 (it cannot be combined with the age-50 catch-up in the same year). Limits are flagged, not enforced, and plan type (governmental vs. tax-exempt) and taxes are ignored. Governmental 457(b) withdrawals are not subject to the 10% early-withdrawal penalty. Confirm plan rules with your administrator.
Compliance note for firms
Advice on the special catch-up depends on the participant's prior contributions and plan terms; treat it as written advice under Circular 230 §10.37. Advisers presenting projections should keep assumptions visible and client-controlled.
Not legal advice. See our disclaimer and the guide to compliance for client calculators.
2026 figures this page relies on
| Figure | Value | Tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k)/403(b)/457(b) employee deferral limit | $24,500 | 2026 | IRS |
| 457(b) final-three-years special catch-up (up to twice the limit) | $49,000 | 2026 | IRS |
| Additional tax on early retirement distributions | 10% before age 59½ (age-55 separation-from-service exception for plans) | 2026 | IRS |
The same values drive the calculator. Full list on the 2026 figures page.
Terms your client sees in the calculator
These definitions appear in the calculator's collapsible Definitions block, so clients don't have to call to ask what a label means.
- 457(b) plan
- A deferred-compensation retirement plan offered mainly by state and local governments, and by some tax-exempt organizations. Contributions come out of pay and grow tax-deferred. It has its own deferral limit, separate from a 401(k) or 403(b), so someone with both plans can contribute to each up to its own limit.
- Deferral limit
- The most an employee can defer into a 457(b) in a year: $24,500 for 2026 (IRS). Catch-up provisions can raise it in certain years. This calculator compares your first-year contribution with the limit and flags it, but it does not cap contributions in later years as they grow.
- Final-3-years catch-up
- A 457(b) provision for the three years before the plan’s normal retirement age. It lets you contribute up to twice the annual limit, $49,000 in 2026 (IRS), to make up for years you contributed less than allowed. It cannot be combined with the age-50 catch-up in the same year. This calculator doubles your contribution in those years, up to that cap.
- Age-50 catch-up
- An extra annual deferral allowed for participants age 50 or older in a governmental 457(b), set by the IRS each year. In any single year you can use either this catch-up or the final-3-years catch-up, whichever allows more, but not both. This calculator does not add the age-based catch-up.
- Early-withdrawal penalty
- The 10% additional tax that usually applies to retirement plan withdrawals taken before the IRS early-withdrawal age (IRS, 2026). Governmental 457(b) withdrawals after leaving the employer are not subject to it, which makes the plan useful for people who retire early. Ordinary income tax still applies to pre-tax withdrawals.
- Governmental vs. tax-exempt 457(b)
- A governmental 457(b) holds assets in trust for participants. A 457(b) at a tax-exempt nonprofit generally remains the employer’s property until paid, so it can be exposed to the employer’s creditors, and rollover options are narrower. This calculator ignores the difference and projects the balance the same way for both.
In our glossary: Elective deferral · Catch-up contribution
457(b) Plan calculator: questions from firms and clients
What is the 2026 457(b) limit?
$24,5002026 · IRS, rising to as much as $49,0002026 · IRS with the special catch-up.
Can I use the special catch-up and the age 50 catch-up together?
Not in the same year. The participant uses whichever gives more room.
Is there an early-withdrawal penalty?
Governmental 457(b) withdrawals after separation from service are not subject to the additional tax that otherwise applies: 10% before age 59½ (age-55 separation-from-service exception for plans)2026 · IRS.
Can I have a 457(b) and a 403(b)?
Yes, and the deferral limits are separate, which lets some public employees save twice the normal limit.
Who qualifies for the special catch-up?
Participants in the three years before the plan's normal retirement age who under-used their limits in earlier years.
Does it handle non-governmental 457(b) plans?
It doesn't distinguish them. Tax-exempt organization plans have different risks and rollover rules.
Are taxes included?
No, the projection is pre-tax.
Which plan includes it?
Network. See pricing.
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