Can You Contribute to Both a 403(b) and 457(b)?

Yes, you can contribute to both a 403(b) and a 457(b) in the same year, and you can max out each one independently. Federal tax law treats the two plans as separate accounts with separate limits, so for 2026 that means up to $24,500 in your 403(b) and another $24,500 in your 457(b) — $49,000 in employee deferrals before any catch-up contributions.¹ The trick is that not every employer offers both, and the two plans behave very differently once you look past the shared headline number.

Who Has Access to Both Plans

You need each plan to be offered by a qualifying employer. Public school systems, state universities, local government agencies, and Section 501(c)(3) nonprofits like charitable hospitals and research institutions are the employers most likely to offer both.² The 403(b) usually functions as the primary retirement plan, with the 457(b) sitting alongside as a supplemental deferred compensation arrangement.

A single employer offering both isn’t required. Someone teaching in a public school district and picking up part-time work at a state college could get access through two different employers. Independent contractors generally can’t participate in a 403(b), though tax-exempt 457(b) plans may include them if the plan document allows.³

Why the Limits Don’t Aggregate

The $24,500 annual deferral limit under Section 402(g) applies to the combined total of your 401(k) and 403(b) contributions for 2026.⁴ If you have both a 403(b) and a 401(k), those two share one ceiling.⁵

The 457(b) sits outside that aggregation. It has its own $24,500 limit under Section 457(b)(2), and the IRS explicitly excludes 457 plans from the 402(g) calculation.⁶¹ This is the “separate buckets” rule, and it’s the reason dual participation is worth pursuing. A worker under 50 who maxes both plans shelters $49,000 of income from federal taxes in a single year.

Catch-Up Contributions in 2026

Catch-ups can push the combined total substantially higher, but the rules differ between the two plans and depend on your age and tenure.

Age 50 and Over

If you turn 50 or older by December 31, 2026, you can add $8,000 to your 403(b) and a separate $8,000 to a governmental 457(b), or $16,000 in extra catch-up space on top of the base $49,000.⁴ The age-50 catch-up for 457(b) plans is only available in governmental plans. If your 457(b) is sponsored by a tax-exempt nonprofit, you don’t get this catch-up.⁶

Ages 60 Through 63

A higher catch-up limit applies to participants who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the calendar year. For 2026, this super catch-up allows $11,250 per plan instead of the standard $8,000, and it applies to both 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans.⁴ A 62-year-old maxing both could defer up to $71,500 in employee contributions: $24,500 plus $11,250 into each plan. Once you turn 64, you drop back to the $8,000 catch-up.

The 403(b) 15-Year Service Catch-Up

The 403(b) has a catch-up that doesn’t exist in any other plan type. If you’ve worked at least 15 years for the same qualifying employer — a public school system, hospital, home health agency, or church — you may be able to contribute an extra $3,000 per year, up to a $15,000 lifetime cap.⁷ The actual amount available depends on a calculation tied to your years of service and total prior deferrals to that employer’s plans.⁸

If you qualify for both the 15-year catch-up and an age-based catch-up in the same year, the plan must apply the 15-year catch-up first. Any remaining catch-up room then goes toward the age-based catch-up, up to its limit.⁷ Your plan administrator handles the math, but understanding the order helps you avoid accidentally under-contributing.

The 457(b) Three-Year Special Catch-Up

During the three tax years before your plan’s stated normal retirement age, a 457(b) may let you contribute up to double the standard annual limit — $49,000 in 2026 — but only if you have enough unused contribution room from prior years to justify it.⁹ The calculation looks at each prior year’s basic limit and subtracts what you actually deferred; underused amounts accumulate, but you can never exceed twice the current-year limit.

You can’t use the three-year special catch-up and the age-based catch-up in the same year. The plan applies whichever produces the higher contribution.⁹ The three-year catch-up is available in both governmental and non-governmental 457(b) plans, unlike the age-based catch-ups.

How Employer Contributions Affect Your Room

Employer contributions play very differently in the two plans, and this trips up people trying to max both.

In a 403(b), employer contributions sit on top of your elective deferrals. The combined total falls under the Section 415(c) limit, which is $72,000 for 2026 or 100% of your compensation, whichever is less.¹⁰ If you defer $24,500 and your employer adds $10,000, your total is $34,500, well below the cap. Most employees never come close to hitting 415(c).

The 457(b) works the opposite way. Employer contributions that vest immediately count against the same $24,500 limit your own deferrals use.⁶ If your employer puts $5,000 into your 457(b) and it vests right away, you can only defer $19,500 from your paycheck that year. Employer contributions still subject to a vesting schedule don’t count until the year they vest. If you want to fully use both plans, confirm with your employer how their 457(b) contributions are structured before you set your deferral rate.

Governmental vs. Non-Governmental 457(b) Plans

Not all 457(b) plans are equivalent. A governmental 457(b), offered by a state or local government employer, holds assets in trust for participants, similar to a 401(k). A non-governmental 457(b), offered by a tax-exempt nonprofit, is a fundamentally different arrangement.

Non-governmental 457(b) plans must remain unfunded by law. The money you defer technically remains the property of your employer and is available to the employer’s general creditors in a bankruptcy or lawsuit.¹¹ Many plans use a “rabbi trust” to hold deferrals, but creditors can still reach those assets. If you work for a financially fragile nonprofit, that risk should shape how much you defer.

The restrictions extend beyond creditor risk. Governmental 457(b) distributions can be rolled over to an IRA, a 401(k), a 403(b), or another eligible plan.¹² Non-governmental 457(b) distributions cannot. And as noted, the age-50 catch-up and the ages 60-63 super catch-up are only available in governmental plans.⁶

Roth Options and the $145,000 Rule

Both 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans can offer designated Roth accounts, though not every plan does.¹³ Roth contributions go in after tax; qualified withdrawals come out tax-free. You can split between pre-tax and Roth in any proportion, as long as the combined total stays within each plan’s annual limit.

SECURE 2.0 added a Roth requirement for higher earners: if your FICA wages from the plan sponsor exceeded $145,000 in the prior calendar year (an amount that adjusts for inflation), any catch-up contributions you make must go in as Roth.¹⁴ The effective date varies by plan type, with governmental and collectively bargained plans on later compliance timelines. Check with your plan administrator to confirm whether the rule applies to your 2026 catch-ups.

If You Contribute Too Much

The consequences differ between the two plans, and neither is minor.

For the 403(b), excess deferrals above $24,500 get taxed twice: once in the year you contributed them, and again when you eventually withdraw them. To avoid the double tax, request a corrective distribution of the excess plus any earnings from your plan by April 15 of the following year.¹⁵ The deadline doesn’t move if you file a tax extension.

For the 457(b), the stakes can be higher. If excess deferrals aren’t corrected promptly, the entire plan can lose its “eligible” status and be reclassified as an ineligible plan under Section 457(f). When that happens, all deferred amounts become taxable under a different set of rules.¹⁶ Governmental plan administrators usually catch these errors. Participants in non-governmental plans, where oversight can be lighter, should monitor their own totals.

If you contribute to plans at two different employers, coordinating limits is on you. Neither employer’s payroll system knows what the other is withholding. Track your year-to-date deferrals yourself, especially if 403(b) or 401(k) contributions from a second job are approaching the shared 402(g) cap.

Combined 2026 Totals by Age

Assuming a governmental 457(b), here’s what the maximum employee deferrals look like at different ages:

Under age 50: $24,500 plus $24,500 equals $49,000.
Age 50 to 59, or 64 and older: $32,500 plus $32,500 equals $65,000, using the $8,000 catch-up in each plan.¹⁷
Age 60 through 63: $35,750 plus $35,750 equals $71,500, using the $11,250 super catch-up in each plan.⁴

Add the 403(b) 15-year service catch-up of $3,000 where it applies, plus employer contributions running up toward the $72,000 Section 415(c) cap, and total contributions to your retirement plans can climb well past $100,000 in a single year for someone who qualifies across the board.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 403(b) Contribution Limits
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 501 – Exemption From Tax on Corporations, Certain Trusts, Etc.
3
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Who Can Participate in a 457(b) Plan
4
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 402 – Taxability of Beneficiary of Employees Trust
6
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 457(b) Contribution Limits
7
Internal Revenue Service. 403(b) Plans – Catch-Up Contributions
8
Internal Revenue Service. 403(b) Plan Fix-It Guide – An Employee Making a 15-Years of Service Catch-Up Contribution Doesnt Have the Required 15 Years of Full-Time Service With the Same Employer
9
Internal Revenue Service. Issue Snapshot – Section 457(b) Plan of Governmental and Tax-Exempt Employers – Catch-Up Contributions
10
IRS.gov. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Cost-of-Living
11
Internal Revenue Service. Non-Governmental 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans
12
Internal Revenue Service. Rollover Chart
13
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs on Designated Roth Accounts
14
Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions
15
Internal Revenue Service. Consequences to a Participant Who Makes Excess Deferrals to a 401(k) Plan
16
Internal Revenue Service. Issue Snapshot – 457(b) Plans – Correction of Excess Deferrals
17
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Catch-Up Contributions