Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, workers who are 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the calendar year can make larger catch-up contributions to their workplace retirement plans than other participants over 50. For 2026, this super catch-up for ages 60 to 63 is $11,250 in a 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plan, compared with the $8,000 standard catch-up available to everyone else 50 and older.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 Stacked on top of the $24,500 base deferral limit, a 62-year-old could put away up to $35,750 in one year. Higher earners face a catch: if your prior-year wages from the plan sponsor exceeded $150,000, every catch-up dollar in 2026 must go into a Roth account.2Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs
Who Qualifies
The higher limit is available in the calendar years you turn 60, 61, 62, or 63. What matters is the age you reach at any point during the year, not your age on January 1. Once you turn 64, you drop back to the standard catch-up limit for participants 50 and older.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
Eligible plans include traditional 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans commonly used by schools and nonprofits, governmental 457(b) plans for public-sector employees, SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k) plans, and the federal Thrift Savings Plan.3Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan Contribution Limits Traditional and Roth IRAs are not eligible. The IRA catch-up stays at $1,000 for people 50 and older, with no enhanced amount for the 60–63 window.
One thing to confirm before you plan around the higher limit: your employer is not required to offer it. Federal law permits the super catch-up, but the plan document has to be formally amended to allow it. If your plan hasn’t adopted the provision, you’re capped at the standard catch-up regardless of age. Check the Summary Plan Description or ask your benefits administrator.
2026 Dollar Limits
The super catch-up replaces the standard catch-up entirely during the four-year window. You don’t stack both.
401(k), 403(b), and Governmental 457(b) Plans
- Base elective deferral limit: $24,500
- Standard catch-up (age 50 and older): $8,000
- Super catch-up (ages 60–63): $11,250
A participant aged 60–63 can defer up to $35,750 total. Someone 50–59 or 64 and older tops out at $32,500.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 The extra $3,250 per year over the four-year window adds up to $13,000 in additional tax-advantaged savings.
SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k) Plans
- Base elective deferral limit: $17,000
- Standard catch-up (age 50 and older): $4,000
- Super catch-up (ages 60–63): $5,250
A SIMPLE participant aged 60–63 can defer up to $22,250 total.3Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan Contribution Limits SECURE 2.0 also created a separate 10% increase to the regular SIMPLE limits for certain smaller employers. A plan cannot apply both that 10% boost and the super catch-up to the same participant in the same year; the plan applies whichever amount is higher.
Governmental 457(b) Special Catch-Up
Governmental 457(b) plans have a longstanding provision that lets participants contribute up to double the base deferral limit in the three years before their plan’s normal retirement age. It exists separately from the age-based catch-up. Whether both can apply in the same year depends on the plan’s specific retirement age definition, and the file’s guidance is to work that out with your plan administrator rather than guess.
The Roth Requirement for Higher Earners
Starting January 1, 2026, if your FICA wages from the plan sponsor in the prior year exceeded $150,000, all of your catch-up contributions for the year must go into a Roth account.2Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs That covers both the standard catch-up and the super catch-up. You get no upfront deduction on those dollars, but qualified withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. Regular deferrals below the $24,500 base limit are unaffected and can still go in pre-tax if you prefer.4National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators. SECURE 2.0 Fact Sheet – Sec. 603
The $150,000 threshold uses wages as defined under IRC Section 3121(a). Under the final regulations, the primary measure is Social Security wages reported in Box 3 of your W-2. For 2026, the IRS will also accept Medicare wages from Box 5 as a good-faith interpretation. The threshold looks only at wages from the employer sponsoring the plan, not household income or AGI. It is indexed for inflation and was $145,000 when the law was originally enacted.5Internal Revenue Service. Treasury, IRS Issue Final Regulations on New Roth Catch-Up Rule, Other SECURE 2.0 Act Provisions
If your employer’s plan does not offer a Roth option, employees above the wage threshold cannot make catch-up contributions at all. That effectively forces plan sponsors with higher-paid workforces to add a Roth feature or lose catch-up eligibility for those employees.
Working for More Than One Employer
If you work for two unrelated employers and participate in a retirement plan at each, the catch-up limits themselves are not aggregated across the two plans. Each plan applies its own limit.6Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions
The overall annual limit under IRC Section 402(g) still applies to your combined elective deferrals across all 401(k) and 403(b) plans. For 2026, that combined ceiling is $35,750 for someone aged 60–63. You cannot double up by participating in two plans. Governmental 457(b) plans have their own separate limit and do not count against the 402(g) ceiling, so someone in both a 401(k) and a governmental 457(b) could potentially defer the maximum into each.
The $150,000 Roth wage test is measured employer by employer. Wages at one company aren’t added to wages at the other, though related employers within a controlled group may aggregate wages if the plan document provides for it.6Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions
Tracking your combined deferrals is your responsibility, not the plans’. Going over the 402(g) limit triggers a correction process: the excess plus earnings must be distributed by April 15 of the following year, or you face double taxation on the excess.7Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Plan Fix-It Guide – Elective Deferrals Werent Limited to the Amounts Under IRC Section 402(g)
Self-Employed Participants
If you run a solo 401(k), the super catch-up applies to your plan the same way it applies to any other 401(k), provided your plan documents have been updated and you’re in the age window.
The Roth catch-up requirement is less settled for the self-employed. The $150,000 threshold is defined in terms of “wages” under IRC Section 3121(a), which technically refers to W-2 compensation. Sole proprietors and partners without W-2 wages may fall outside the wage-based test entirely, and some tax professionals take that position, allowing pre-tax catch-up contributions regardless of earnings. If you operate through an S corporation and pay yourself a W-2 salary, the standard wage threshold applies. Given the ambiguity, this is worth confirming with a tax professional before your first contribution of the year.
Steps to Take Before the Plan Year Starts
Confirm your employer actually offers the super catch-up. Ask your HR department or third-party administrator whether the plan documents have been amended for the SECURE 2.0 enhanced catch-up. If they haven’t, you’re limited to $8,000.
Check your prior-year wages against the Roth threshold. Pull your most recent W-2 and look at Box 3. If it’s above $150,000, catch-up contributions must go into a Roth account, and if the plan doesn’t offer one, you won’t be able to make catch-up contributions at all. That’s worth raising with the plan sponsor early.
Update your deferral election before the first payroll cycle of the new year. Spreading contributions evenly across pay periods avoids hitting the limit too early and missing employer match dollars that are calculated per pay period. Keep a copy of whatever election you submit.
If you participate in plans at more than one employer, map out your combined deferrals against the 402(g) ceiling for the year. Planning ahead is cheaper than correcting an excess after the fact.