Coordinate 2026 employee deferrals after changing jobs or while working two jobs. Compare both match formulas and find a paycheck allocation within one shared limit.
Illustrative two-job example loaded
Replace the sample amounts with year-to-date payroll records and both Summary Plan Descriptions.
The selection loads the general 2026 IRS catch-up amount. Confirm how catch-up rules apply to your plans.
The general 2026 401(k)/403(b) elective-deferral limit is $24,500.
2026: generally $8,000 at age 50+, or $11,250 at ages 60-63. Enter zero when no catch-up applies.
Add your pre-tax and Roth employee deferrals from every prior and current modeled employer this calendar year. Do not add employer match.
Include only checks on which you can change this plan's employee contribution.
Use compensation eligible for this plan's match, not take-home pay.
Use the highest percentage payroll will accept, including any per-check cap.
Employer match formula
Example: enter 50 for $0.50 per $1 contributed.
Example: enter 6 for a match that stops after 6% of pay.
Under this simplified formula, $1,680 of employee deferrals would target up to $1,680 of employer match across the entered remaining payroll.
Include only checks on which you can change this plan's employee contribution.
Use compensation eligible for this plan's match, not take-home pay.
Use the highest percentage payroll will accept, including any per-check cap.
Employer match formula
Example: enter 50 for $0.50 per $1 contributed.
Example: enter 6 for a match that stops after 6% of pay.
Under this simplified formula, $1,536 of employee deferrals would target up to $768 of employer match across the entered remaining payroll.
The entered room can capture the modeled matches
The allocation recommends $6,000 of additional employee deferrals and estimates $2,448 of employer match. Verify payroll election deadlines and each plan document before changing contributions.
Shared room remaining
$6,000
$24,500 entered limit minus $18,500 already deferred
Recommended deferrals
$6,000
$24,500 projected employee deferrals for the year
Employer match captured
$2,448
100% of the entered formula opportunity
Employer match foregone
$0
No formula match is left behind under these entries
Unused shared room
$0
The recommendation uses the available room or reaches the entered limit
Remaining eligible payroll
$67,600
$50,700 can pass through the entered percentage caps
Match priority: Job / plan 1 → Job / plan 2. The engine orders match layers by employer match earned per employee dollar, not by employer name or account balance.
10 remaining paychecks · per-paycheck match assumed
Suggested even election
8.16%
About $343 per check
Average modeled employer match: $168 per remaining check. Actual deposits can use different compensation definitions or timing.
8 remaining paychecks · true-up entered
Suggested even election
10.05%
About $321 per check
Average modeled employer match: $96 per remaining check. Actual deposits can use different compensation definitions or timing.
The engine subtracts entered year-to-date employee deferrals from the entered annual limit. It creates one match layer for each active plan and funds the layer with the greatest employer match per employee dollar first. It never recommends more than the remaining shared room, remaining compensation, or the entered payroll percentage cap.
Once the modeled match layers are filled, any extra employee deferral room is spread across the plans in proportion to their remaining payroll capacity. The displayed percentage is an even rate across the entered remaining paychecks; payroll rounding can make the final check differ.
Across the active plans, the entered formulas require $3,216 of employee deferrals to target $2,448 of employer match before considering payroll caps.
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Job-change retirement guide
Changing employers does not restart the calendar-year employee elective-deferral limit. A second payroll may stop only at its own records, so workers often have to coordinate the combined amount themselves.
This calculator puts both remaining payrolls and match formulas in one place, then directs scarce employee deferral dollars toward the strongest available match first.
Combine year-to-date pre-tax and Roth elective deferrals from old and current payroll records. Leave employer matching dollars out.
Use each Summary Plan Description or benefits portal for the match rate, compensation threshold, payroll cap, and true-up terms.
Count checks on which a new election can take effect and use gross compensation that is eligible for the match.
Check enrollment deadlines, percentage increments, bonus treatment, final-paycheck rules, and whether an annual true-up has conditions.
The basic elective-deferral limit generally aggregates employee deferrals across the applicable plans in which a person participates. An old and a new unrelated employer may each know only the amounts processed through its own payroll.
Some plans calculate match every paycheck and later reconcile it using a broader compensation period. A true-up can reduce the risk of missing that employer’s match after uneven contributions, but plan documents may impose allocation dates, eligible-compensation definitions, or an employment requirement.
This planning tool does not determine catch-up eligibility or required Roth catch-up treatment, plan eligibility, vesting, annual-additions limits, related-employer treatment, or how to correct an excess deferral. It does not model SIMPLE plans, SARSEPs, governmental 457(b) plans, tiered matches, or self-employed employer contributions. Plan documents and official guidance control.
Generally no for the standard 401(k) and 403(b) elective deferrals modeled here. The calendar-year employee limit is combined across the applicable plans, even when the employers are unrelated.
Yes. Pre-tax and designated Roth employee elective deferrals generally count together toward the employee limit. Employer matching contributions are not added to that employee limit.
When employee deferral room is scarce, start with the match that earns the greatest employer contribution per employee dollar, then fund the next match layer. Other factors such as vesting, fees, investment choices, and job tenure can still matter.
A true-up is a plan-specific reconciliation that may add match when paycheck-by-paycheck deposits did not produce the match described for a broader period. It does not make one employer responsible for match at another employer.
The calculator stops recommending additional employee deferrals and displays the entered difference. Compare payroll records and contact the applicable plan administrators promptly for plan-specific guidance; this tool does not select or carry out a correction.
Governmental 457(b) plans can follow a separate elective-deferral framework. This calculator intentionally excludes them because mixing plan types can change the analysis.
