State Auto-IRA Calculator

State-mandated auto-IRA programs automatically enroll workers whose employers don't offer a retirement plan, deducting a set percentage of each paycheck into an individual retirement account. The projection here shows how those payroll deductions, paired with investment returns, can accumulate into a meaningful balance over a working career. Treat the output as a planning estimate rather than a promise of any particular outcome.

Future value is built from three inputs: your starting balance, the contribution you add each year, and an assumed annual return that compounds once a year. The model respects the 2026 auto-IRA contribution limit of $7,000 for savers under 50 and $8,000 for those 50 and over. It applies the formula FV = P * (1 + r)^n + C * (((1 + r)^n - 1) / r), where FV is future value, P is initial principal, r is the annual interest rate, n is the number of years, and C is the annual contribution.

Real-world results will drift from any projection, because markets rise and fall and average returns are never guaranteed. The figures are most useful for seeing how steady, modest deposits compound across decades into a far larger sum than the contributions alone. Reviewing your beneficiary designations periodically is a sensible habit alongside this kind of planning.