From the year you turn 50, the IRS lets you put more into your retirement accounts than the regular limits allow. These extra amounts are called catch-up contributions, and since 2025 there's a larger one for people in their early 60s. Here's how they work for 2026.

401(k), 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans

The regular limit on what you can defer from your pay in 2026 is $24,500. On top of that:

  • From 50: if you're 50 or older by the end of the year, you can add a catch-up of up to $8,000.
  • At 60, 61, 62 or 63: if you turn one of those ages during the year, the catch-up is larger: up to $11,250 instead. The year you turn 64, it drops back to the regular catch-up.

These are limits on what you can contribute, not amounts your plan has to accept. Most plans allow catch-ups, but it's worth checking yours, especially for the age 60 to 63 amount.

SIMPLE IRAs and SIMPLE 401(k)s have their own, lower limits; the IRS page on catch-up contributions lists them.

High earners: catch-ups go to Roth

Starting in 2026, if your wages from your employer last year were more than $150,000, any catch-up you make to that employer's plan must go in as a Roth contribution. You pay income tax on it now, and qualified withdrawals later are tax-free. Your regular deferrals can still be traditional.

If your plan doesn't offer a Roth option, ask your plan administrator how it handles this; the rule applies to plans that have a Roth feature.

IRAs

The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500, across all your traditional and Roth IRAs combined, or your taxable compensation for the year if that's less. From 50, you can add a catch-up of $1,100. There's no separate age 60 to 63 amount for IRAs.

HSAs

Health savings accounts have their own catch-up, which starts at 55, not 50: an extra $1,000 a year, a figure fixed in the tax code rather than adjusted for inflation. The 2026 HSA limits before the catch-up are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage. You can't contribute to an HSA once you're enrolled in Medicare.

Is it worth it?

A catch-up starts late, so it has less time to grow than contributions made in your 30s. But it often lands in your highest-earning years, and every dollar in a traditional account defers income tax at your top rate. From 60 to 63 the larger limit can add noticeably to what you have at retirement. Whether to make it traditional or Roth (when you have the choice) depends on whether you expect your tax rate in retirement to be higher or lower than it is now.

Try it

The catch-up contributions calculator shows your 401(k), IRA and HSA limits for any age. The 401(k) with employer match calculator shows what extra contributions add up to by retirement.