# Lifetime limit calculator

> Project the maximum Cash Balance lump sum an owner can accumulate under IRC 415(b), year by year for the next 10–15 years.

Source: https://askactuary.com/calculator  
Author: Mike Rutkowski, FSA, EA, MSPA

Project the largest lump sum a participant's Cash Balance benefit can reach under IRC section 415(b), and the level annual contribution that funds it by a target year.

This is an interactive calculator. Open https://askactuary.com/calculator in a browser to use it. It shows a chart and a year-by-year table of the 415(b) maximum lump sum, the dollar or pay limit that applies, and the level annual contribution that reaches the maximum by the target year.

**Inputs it asks for:**

- Date of birth
- Date of hire
- Plan effective date
- Average annual pay, highest 3 consecutive years
- Target year to stop contributions
- Asset return
- Assumed inflation
- Current plan assets (optional)

### How this is calculated

Each year the calculator finds the largest annual benefit 415(b) allows, then converts it to a lump sum.

- **Dollar limit:** 2025: $280,000; 2026: $290,000; 2027: $300,000 (forecast). Later years grow at the assumed inflation rate and round down to the next $5,000. Reduced by 10% for each year of plan participation short of 10.
- **Pay limit:** 100% of the average pay entered, capped at the 401(a)(17) limit of $360,000 (held flat). Reduced by 10% for each year of service short of 10.
- **Age adjustment:** the dollar limit is reduced before age 62 and increased after 65 using 5% interest and the applicable 417(e) mortality table, with no pre-retirement mortality. The pay limit is not age-adjusted.
- **Lump sum:** the lesser of the two annual limits, converted at 5.5% interest and the 2026 417(e) unisex mortality table.
- **Timing:** ages are measured at December 31 of each year. Service and participation count calendar years, including the year of hire and the plan's first year.
- **Contribution:** a level amount deposited at each year end through the target year, earning the asset return, that accumulates to the maximum lump sum in that year. Rounded to the nearest $1,000.

Not reflected: other defined benefit plans of the same employer and the timing of contributions within the year. Results are illustrative, not an actuarial valuation.

For education and planning conversations only. Actual limits and contributions are set by the plan's enrolled actuary using the plan document, census data, and IRS rules in effect for each year.

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Educational information only. Not tax, legal, or investment advice, and not an actuarial valuation.
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