Income and career · Calculator

The lifetime value
of a raise.

Estimate the compounded career value of a raise, including higher 401(k) contributions, future raises on a larger base, and a higher Social Security benefit.

The question it answersWhat is the lifetime value of negotiating a raise?

Rules: United States. Tax year: models 2026 figures; check the assumptions before using it for another year. Privacy: runs in your browser. What you enter stays on your device unless you copy a share link, which puts your inputs in the link.

35 years
THE BOTTOM LINE
YEAR 1 IMPACT
OVER CAREER

The salary trajectory chart compares with and without the raise, showing the divergence as the higher base compounds through future raises. Social Security is estimated and employer matchemployer matchAn employer contribution linked to qualifying employee contributions under a plan formula. Eligibility, vesting and plan terms determine what you receive and keep. The match ratio is not an annual investment return, and the invested balance can fall.Full definition is not included; use Tax Estimator for precise withholding numbers. ×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: The 7% default return is applied in nominal dollars, like the 3% raises. It sits below the S&P 500's 1928 to 2025 compound average of about 10% a year including dividends.Verify at: NYU Stern (Damodaran) historical S&P 500 returns ↗ Source 1 in the list belowPast returns do not guarantee future returns.

Projection, not a promise. The result follows the assumptions you enter. Real results will differ, sometimes by a lot.

What this tool assumes
  • The whole raise counts as extra salary. The 401(k) contribution % you enter is the share of each year's salary that is invested, and only the investment growth on the extra contributions is added on top.
  • The investment return is constant every year and nominal, like the salary raises; nothing is adjusted for inflation.
  • Taxes, employer match and the 401(k) contribution limit are not modeled.
  • Social Security uses the 2026 benefit formula and $184,500 taxable maximum, and assumes your other top-35 earning years match your current salary. Result is a monthly amount at 67 in 2026 dollars.

Not financial advice. Assumes consistent employment and investment at the stated rates.

HOW THIS IS CALCULATED

This tool runs entirely in your browser: no data is sent to any server. Every rate is an input except the 2026 Social Security figures cited below.

  • For each year y from 0 to (years minus 1): salary without the raise = current × (1 + raise rate)^y; with the raise = (current + raise) × (1 + raise rate)^y.
  • Each year's 401(k) contribution = salary × contribution %, grown to retirement at the return rate: contribution × (1 + return)^(years minus y minus 1).
  • Year 1 impact: extra salary = the raise; extra 401(k) contribution = raise × contribution %.
  • The chart plots both salaries for Year 1 (the year y = 0 above) through the final year.
  • Cumulative extra salary = the sum of the yearly salary differences. Extra retirement balance = the grown balance with the raise minus the balance without it.
  • Bottom line = cumulative extra salary + (extra retirement balance minus the extra contributions), so contributions already counted in salary are not counted twice.
  • Social Security: each year's earnings are capped at the 2026 taxable maximum of $184,500[2]. AIME without the raise = capped current salary × 35 ÷ 420, where 420 is 35 years of months; SSA averages indexed earnings from the 35 highest-earning years by month[2]. AIME with the raise swaps min(years, 35) of those years for capped (current + raise). Each AIME runs through the full 2026 benefit formula: 90% of AIME up to $1,286, 32% from $1,286 to $7,749, 15% above $7,749[2]. Extra monthly benefit = benefit with the raise minus benefit without it, in 2026 dollars.
  • Defaults: $85,000 salary, $7,500 raise, 35 years, 3% yearly raises, 10% contribution, 7% return.
  • A blank or negative input, or a rate above 100%, shows a message instead of a result; nothing is replaced with a default.

All dollar figures are nominal: the return you enter is applied to nominal salaries that grow at the raise rate you enter, with no inflation adjustment. The 7% default sits below the S&P 500's 1928 to 2025 compound average of about 10% a year including dividends[1]. Not modeled: taxes, employer match, inflation, the 401(k) contribution limit, and SSA wage indexing; the Social Security estimate assumes your pay keeps the same ratio to national average wages and that your other top-35 years match your current salary. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.

Where to go from here

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Sources

Bracketed numbers and verify badges in the text link to these sources. Figures, rates and rules change: check each source’s date before acting on it.

  1. Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills (S&P 500 with dividends, 1928 to 2025, updated January 2026). Checked 2026-09-26. ↩
  2. Social Security Administration, Federal Register, Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2026. Checked 2026-09-26. ↩
  3. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC long-run return data

Calculators are educational estimates, not financial advice. Disclosures · How pages are reviewed