Catch-Up Contributions for 2026: Age 50+, 60–63 and the Roth Rule
The 2026 catch-up contribution is $8,000 for people 50 or older in a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b) or the Thrift Savings Plan, and $11,250 if you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 this year. SIMPLE plans allow $4,000 ($5,250 at 60 to 63) and IRAs $1,100. If your pay from the plan sponsor was above $150,000 last year, your catch-up must be Roth.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Amounts and rules checked against IRS Notice 2025-67, the final regulations and the statute November 7, 2026 · Methodology & sources
2026 catch-up amounts by plan type and age
| Plan type | Regular limit | Catch-up, age 50 or over | Catch-up, ages 60 to 63 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b) and TSPMost employer plans except SIMPLE | $24,500 | $8,000 | $11,250 |
| SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k)Most SIMPLE plans | $17,000 | $4,000 | $5,250 |
| SIMPLE plans with the higher limitEmployers with 25 or fewer employees, or that elect the higher limit | $18,100 | $3,850 | $5,250 |
| Traditional and Roth IRAIndividual accounts, not employer plans | $7,500 | $1,100 | Same as 50 or over |
Source: IRS Notice 2025-67. Higher-limit SIMPLE plans are those of employers with 25 or fewer employees or that elect the higher limit; their catch-up is $3,850, or the super catch-up amount at 60 to 63 if the plan allows. The catch-up goes on top of the regular limit. For the full yearly tables, see 401(k) and IRA contribution limits for 2026.
Which catch-up applies at your age
| Age you reach by December 31, 2026 | Birth year | 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), TSP catch-up |
|---|---|---|
| 49 or younger | 1977 or later | None yet |
| 50 to 59 | 1967 to 1976 | $8,000 |
| 60 to 63 | 1963 to 1966 | $11,250 |
| 64 or older | 1962 or earlier | $8,000 |
What counts is the age you reach during the calendar year, not your age on the day you contribute. Someone who turns 60 in December can use the higher amount for the whole year.
What are catch-up contributions?
Catch-up contributions let people age 50 or older put more into a retirement plan than the regular annual limit allows. Under 26 U.S.C. 414(v), you are eligible if you would reach age 50 by the end of the taxable year, and a plan is not treated as breaking its limits because it lets eligible participants make additional elective deferrals.
- Your plan has to offer it. Catch-up contributions are made as elective deferrals, and they must be made before the end of the plan year.
- They start after the regular limit. The IRS does not treat deferrals as catch-up contributions until they exceed the regular limit, the plan's own limit or the ADP test limit. Your catch-up is also capped at your compensation left after the other deferrals.
- They sit outside the annual limits. In the year they are made, catch-up contributions are not counted against the section 402(g), 415(c) or 457(b) limits, and the plan cannot fail its tests solely because of them.
- IRAs work differently. The IRA catch-up is a higher deductible or Roth IRA amount for anyone 50 or older, due by the tax return due date without extensions.
The IRS explains the rules on its catch-up contributions topic page.
The ages 60 to 63 super catch-up
Section 109 of SECURE 2.0 raised the catch-up for anyone who would attain age 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the taxable year, for years after 2024. For 2026 the amount is $11,250 in most 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b) and TSP plans ($5,250 in SIMPLE plans), compared with $8,000 ($4,000 in SIMPLE plans) at other ages. In the year you turn 64 you return to the regular catch-up.
- It is an alternative, not an add-on. You use the $11,250 limit instead of $8,000, not on top of it. The plan has to allow it; ask your plan administrator.
- IRAs have no super catch-up. The $1,100 IRA catch-up is the same at 60 to 63 as at any age from 50.
- Matching is a plan rule. Whether catch-up contributions earn an employer match depends on your plan's terms, so check the plan document.
The Roth catch-up rule for higher earners
Section 603 of SECURE 2.0 (section 414(v)(7)) says that if your FICA wages from the employer that sponsors the plan were more than the Roth catch-up wage threshold in the prior year, your catch-up contributions must be Roth. The threshold is $150,000 for 2025 wages, which decides 2026 catch-up contributions (Notice 2025-67).
- Whose wages count. Wages are Social Security and Medicare wages (W-2 box 3) from the employer that sponsors the plan. Wages from other employers are not added. No FICA wages from that employer in the prior year means the requirement does not apply.
- Only the catch-up is Roth. You can still make traditional pre-tax contributions up to the regular limit; the catch-up amount goes in as Roth and is taxed now.
- The plan needs a Roth option. A plan that applies the rule to anyone can offer catch-up contributions only if all eligible participants can make them as Roth.
- What it does not cover. It does not apply to SEPs, SIMPLE IRA plans or IRAs.
When it applies
The IRS topic page says that beginning in 2026, participants in plans with Roth features must make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis once prior-year wages with the plan sponsor exceeded the threshold. The final regulations (T.D. 10033) apply to contributions in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, with later dates for governmental plans and plans under collective bargaining agreements. Until then, plans may rely on a reasonable, good faith interpretation of the statute.
General information, not tax advice. Your plan administrator determines which wages count and how your plan applies the rule.
How catch-up contributions work in each plan
- 401(k). $8,000 at 50 or older and $11,250 at 60 to 63, with the Roth rule for higher earners. SIMPLE 401(k) plans follow the SIMPLE amounts instead.
- 403(b). The same catch-up as a 401(k). Employees with at least 15 years of service may also qualify for an additional amount; the 403(b) page covers it.
- Governmental 457(b). The same age 50 and ages 60 to 63 catch-ups. The statute does not apply the regular catch-up in any year a higher limit applies under the plan's special three-year catch-up; see the 457(b) page.
- Thrift Savings Plan. The same amounts as a 401(k), and the Roth rule uses prior-year FICA wages from your agency or service. The TSP contribution limits page has the agency match and a max-out calculator.
- SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k). $4,000 at 50 or older and $5,250 at 60 to 63, or $3,850 in a higher-limit plan. No Roth catch-up requirement. More on the SIMPLE IRA limits page.
- Traditional and Roth IRA. $1,100 on top of the IRA limit, with no Roth requirement; the Roth IRA income limits and 2027 page covers eligibility.
Catch-up amounts for 2027
The IRS has not announced the 2027 retirement plan limits yet. It announced the 2026 limits on November 13, 2025, so the 2027 notice is expected in mid-November. We do not estimate the amounts; this page will show the IRS figures when the notice is published, and until then 2026 is the current year.
This page covers the catch-up rules. The regular 2027 plan limits are on the 2027 retirement limits page. Plans that allow after-tax contributions beyond these limits are covered on the mega backdoor Roth page.
Catch-up contribution questions
What are the catch-up contribution limits for 2026?
For 2026, the catch-up limit is $8,000 for most 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b) and Thrift Savings Plan participants who are 50 or older, and $11,250 if you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year (IRS Notice 2025-67). SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k) plans allow $4,000, or $5,250 at ages 60 to 63, and the IRA catch-up is $1,100. These amounts sit on top of the regular limit, which is $24,500 for 401(k)-type plans.
What are catch-up contributions?
Catch-up contributions are extra contributions that people age 50 or older may make above the regular annual limit for their retirement plan or IRA. A 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457(b) plan has to choose to offer them, and they are made through elective deferrals. Under the law you are eligible for the year in which you would reach age 50 by December 31, even if your birthday comes later in the year.
What is the super catch-up for ages 60 to 63?
Section 109 of SECURE 2.0 raised the catch-up for people who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year, starting in 2025. For 2026 the amount is $11,250 instead of $8,000 in most 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b) and TSP plans, and $5,250 instead of $4,000 in SIMPLE plans. It applies only in those four calendar years; in the year you turn 64 you go back to the regular catch-up. The IRA catch-up has no higher amount at these ages.
Do I have to make Roth catch-up contributions?
Only if your plan offers catch-up contributions and your FICA wages (Social Security and Medicare wages, W-2 box 3) from the employer that sponsors the plan were more than $150,000 in the prior year. $150,000 is the threshold for 2025 wages, which decides your 2026 catch-up contributions. Section 603 of SECURE 2.0 requires those catch-up contributions to be Roth, so they are taxed now rather than deducted. Earning exactly the threshold or less leaves the choice of pre-tax or Roth to you, and so does having no FICA wages from that employer in the prior year.
When does the Roth catch-up rule take effect?
The IRS says that beginning in 2026 participants in plans with Roth features must make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis if their prior-year wages with the plan sponsor exceeded the threshold. The final regulations (T.D. 10033, 90 FR 44527) apply to contributions in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, with later dates for governmental plans and plans under collective bargaining agreements. Until then, plans may rely on a reasonable, good faith interpretation of the statute. Your plan administrator will say how your plan applies it.
Does the Roth catch-up rule apply to SIMPLE IRAs, SEPs and IRAs?
No. Section 414(v)(7) does not apply to SEP arrangements or SIMPLE IRA plans, and the notice describes the wage threshold as applying to employer plans other than those. An IRA is not an employer plan, so you choose a traditional or Roth IRA for your IRA catch-up as usual. The rule does reach 401(k), 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans, and the Thrift Savings Plan.
What happens if my plan has no Roth option?
A plan that applies the Roth catch-up requirement to any participant can allow catch-up contributions only if it lets every eligible participant make them as Roth contributions (section 414(v)(7)(B)). A plan with no Roth feature therefore cannot offer catch-up contributions to people above the wage threshold, and the regulations give such a plan limited room to stop other participants as well to keep its nondiscrimination testing intact.
Do catch-up contributions count toward the regular limit?
No. The IRS says elective deferrals are not treated as catch-up contributions until they exceed the regular limit ($24,500 for 2026) or the plan limit, and catch-up contributions are not subject to the section 402(g), 415(c) and 457(b) limits in the year they are made. Your catch-up can never exceed the lesser of the dollar limit or your compensation after the other deferrals. Plan catch-up contributions are due by the end of the plan year; IRA catch-up contributions are due by the tax return due date without extensions.
What are the 2027 catch-up contribution limits?
The IRS has not announced the 2027 retirement plan limits yet. It announced the 2026 limits on November 13, 2025, so the 2027 notice is expected in mid-November. We do not estimate the amounts; this page will show the IRS figures when the notice is published, and until then 2026 is the current year.
Is there a higher SIMPLE IRA catch-up?
Yes, in two cases. If the employer has 25 or fewer employees, or elects the higher limit, the SIMPLE catch-up for 2026 is $3,850 (the regular limit for those plans is $18,100). And at ages 60 to 63 the SIMPLE catch-up is $5,250; a plan with the higher limit may let participants of those ages use the $5,250 amount instead of $3,850. The two increases cannot be combined.
Cite this page
Page title: Catch-Up Contributions 2026: Age 50+, 60–63 and Roth Rule. Updated November 7, 2026. Canonical URL: https://fedratecalc.com/catch-up-contributions/
Data source: IRS Notice 2025-67 (2026 amounts); IRS news release IR-2025-111; IRS: Retirement topics, catch-up contributions; Final regulations T.D. 10033 (90 FR 44527); 26 U.S.C. 414(v); 26 U.S.C. 408(p); 26 U.S.C. 219(b)(5), compiled by FedRateCalc.
Plain-text citation
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