I wrote this shortly after I made the contribution of the first catch-up in my life. Yes, I’m that old now. However, there have been some changes in catch-up contributions since 2025, which seemed like a good time to broaden the entire subject.
The contribution of catch-up is a bit ridiculous. This means that anyone can save as much money as they want to retire at any age with a taxable account. There are no restrictions. The contribution of catch-up is that you can get a little more tax, real estate planning and asset protection benefits in your portfolio. Because a little more of your savings are in your tax account and you can enter a taxable brokerage account that is a little less. These catch-up methods seem to bring unnecessary complexity to a system that is already too complex, but I am not going to see a gift horse in my mouth.
Contributions to catching up to IRAs
The contribution of the 2025 IRA catch-up has been that way for some time. At the beginning of the year when you turn 50, you can create either a traditional or a Ross IRA (assuming you are permitted to contribute directly). In 2025, someone under the age of 50 will contribute $7,000. For people over 50, it’s $8,000. It’s pretty simple.
401(k) and 403(b) catch-up contributions
For a 401(k) or 403(b), the catch-up contribution for 2025 is $7,500. This additional contribution will be added to the “employee deferred” contribution limit, which is $23,500 in 2025. Like the contributions of the IRA, it starts at the year of 50. If you are under the age of 50, you may donate $23,500 to Loss or tax deferred 401(k) or 403(b). If you are over 50 years old, you can donate $31,000. Please note that “employee deferral” does not only mean tax deferral contributions. They can be tax deferred or lost.
Multiple 401(k)s
If you have income from unrelated employers (including yourself as self-employed), you can contribute to multiple 401(k) in 2025 with a limit of $70,000 each. In addition to that 415(c) limit, you can put $77,500 in one 401(k). However, similar to employee postponement restrictions, there is only one catch-up contribution regardless of the number of 401(k) available. If you are eligible for two, you (with your employer) can put under $77,500 for one of them and $70,000 for the other. Note that the 403(b)s and solo 401(k)s share the same 415(c) limit.
For more information, click here:
Multiple 401(k) rules – What to do with multiple 401(k) accounts?
New catch-up contributions to savings in their early 60s
If you turn 60-63 in 2025, you are not limited to a catch-up contribution limit of just $7,500 to a 401(k) or 403(b). Instead, you’ll qualify for a higher catch-up contribution of $11,250, increasing the total amount that could be $81,250 for one 401(k) or 403(b) rather than just $70,000 or $77,500 in 2025. This was part of Safe Action 2.0. After age 63, he will return to the $7,500 limit. There are also additional catch-up contributions at these ages with 457(b) and simple IRAs (see below).
No, I don’t know why Congress thought these ages were so special, but that was what was in Safe Law 2.0. A little politician, how to add complexity.
Special (2015) 403 (b) Contribution to catch-up
If you worked for the same qualified employer (public school system, hospital, home health service institution, health and welfare service institution, church or church association), you can further catch up on:
- $3,000,
- $15,000, reduced by the amount of additional selective deferred amounts made over the past few years for this rule, or
- The 5,000 times the year of service for an organization’s employees is minus the total amount of previously selected postponements.
oh. That’s complicated, but it’s under $3,000 over five years, so it’s totaling $15,000. Note that this is added to the extra $7,500 catch-up. However, the plan must be specifically permitted.
SEP-IRA’s catch-up contribution
Sorry, but that’s not the case. Another reason to use the Solo 401(k) instead of the SEP-IRA. Catch-up contributions apply only to employee postponements and are nothing in the SEP-IRA.
Contributions to Simple IRA and Simple 401(k) catch-up
Stay in a simple IRA because your employer hates you (or just a little practice that makes sense because you’re saving so much for retirement)? You will also get a catch-up contribution. If you turn 50-59 in 2025, your employee’s postponement is $3,500 if it’s $20,000. However, for those aged 60-63, a total of $21,750 is $5,250. A simple IRA has some strange rules and if an employer is elected that way, it can increase the total contribution. That additional amount is less than 10% of the compensation or $5,000. This is not a catch-up contribution, but a quirky aspect of a simple account.
457(b) Contribution to catch-up
Did you think the contribution of catch-up on 403(b) was complicated? You haven’t seen anything yet. Using 457(b), the plan can provide two types of catch-up contributions. The first is a $7,500 catch-up, similar to those over 50, as well as the 401(k) or 403(b). If you’re a 60-63, it’s $11,250, not $7,500, like 401(k)s or 403(b)s. The second type of catch-up is a “special” catch-up contribution allowed three years before “the normal retirement age specified in the plan” (and this number can be chosen in your plan).
- Selective extension ($23,500 in 2025) or, essentially, double the contribution amount,
- That same basic annual limit and the amount of basic limits not used in the previous year (the last three).
You can donate. However, if the plan also offers $7,500 catch-ups for those over 50 years old, the second option will not be allowed. Are you still confused? I’m not surprised. Maybe ask HR what your biggest contribution is. But it really seems like a “catch-up” of contributions you haven’t made in the first one or two of the past three years.
For more information, click here:
Why you need to make the most of your retirement account?
Loss’s catch-up contribution (2026)
Another catch-up contribution rule to be launched in 2026 is that catch-up contributions for high-income people ($145,000>$145,000 adjusted for wage inflation) must be a loss contribution, while previously (and still for low-income people) can be tax deferred or lost. This applies to catch-up contributions for ages 50 and older for 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457(b)s, but is not a simple plan. Originally, this was supposed to come into effect in 2024, but was (probably wisely) delayed to make sure we had more time to comply with the law.
HSA’s catch-up contribution
HSA catch-up donations start at age 55, not at age 50. Like IRAS, even if you’re using a single HSA or family HSA, the amount is an extra $1,000. In 2025, those who turned 55 this year will have a total contribution of $5,300 (single) or $9,550 (family). Please note that just because your spouse is also over 55 years old, you cannot add $1,000 to your HSA. They must have their own HSA to make their own catch-up contributions. So, when your second spouse turns 55, it makes sense to open the second HSA by name. The total regular contributions are the same (even if one parent has children in the planning), but the total, including catch-up contributions, is $1,000 more. That’s one of the times when the additional complexity benefits a little more.
The catch-up contribution rules can be complicated, but it’s worth learning about the tax accounts you qualify for.
What do you think? What kind of catch-up contributions are you using this year?
