401(k) Super Catch-Up 2026: Why Ages 60 to 63 Can Contribute $35,750

Retirement Planning Published May 3, 2026 Updated May 24, 2026

For the first time in 2026, 401(k) participants aged 60 through 63 can contribute $11,250 in catch-up contributions, on top of the standard $24,500 elective deferral, for a total of $35,750. This is the SECURE 2.0 "super catch-up," and it replaces (not stacks with) the ordinary 50+ catch-up of $8,000. At age 64 the catch-up drops back down to $8,000. This post walks through who qualifies, why the age window is so narrow, the new Roth-only catch-up rule for high earners, and the combined employee + employer cap.

2026 401(k) Limits at a Glance

All figures from IRS Notice 2025-67:

The Three Catch-Up Tiers

• 49 and under: no catch-up. Limit is $24,500.
• 50 to 59: $8,000 standard catch-up. Total is $32,500.
• 60 to 63: $11,250 super catch-up replacing the $8,000. Total is $35,750.
• 64 and older: back to the $8,000 standard catch-up. Total is $32,500.

The cliff at age 64 is real. A participant who turns 64 in March 2026 only gets the $8,000 catch-up for the entire 2026 tax year, not a prorated amount. The age determination is made as of December 31 of the contribution year (your "attained age").

Why 60 to 63? The Original SECURE 2.0 Intent

SECURE 2.0 (2022) was sold partly as a tool to help workers in the home stretch before retirement. Congress concluded that the years immediately before claiming Social Security are the highest-leverage savings years: kids are out of college, mortgages are nearly paid off, and earnings are typically at lifetime peak. The 60-63 super catch-up is the legislative expression of that "final lap" intent.

The window aligns roughly with the gap between the age 59½ penalty-free withdrawal threshold (already passed) and the age 65 Medicare eligibility milestone. Workers in this window often want to build a final cushion before transitioning to retirement income.

The Roth Catch-Up Mandate for High Earners

Effective tax year 2026, SECURE 2.0 §603 requires that any 401(k) catch-up contribution made by an employee whose prior-year W-2 Box 3 wages from the same employer exceeded $145,000 (indexed; some IRS guidance has used $150,000 in the past, but the statute references $145,000 with COLA from a 2023 base) must be on a Roth basis. The base $24,500 elective deferral is unaffected and can still go in pre-tax. Only the catch-up portion ($8,000 or $11,250) is forced into Roth.

If your employer's 401(k) plan does not offer a Roth designated account, you lose the catch-up entirely. This is why many large plans rushed to add a Roth option before 2026: the alternative is telling high earners they cannot make the catch-up at all.

For a participant aged 62 earning $200,000 with a plan that offers Roth, the 2026 contribution looks like this:

• $24,500 base pre-tax (or Roth, your choice)
• $11,250 super catch-up, mandatorily Roth
• Total: $35,750, with $11,250 going into the Roth bucket and growing tax-free

Worked Example: High Earner, Age 62

Lisa, 62, earns $185,000 in 2026 from her employer. Her plan offers a 401(k) match of 100% on the first 5% of pay (a $9,250 annual match). Her 2025 W-2 was $180,000, so she falls under the Roth catch-up mandate.

• Employee elective deferral (pre-tax): $24,500
• Employee super catch-up (Roth only): $11,250
• Employer match: $9,250
• Total going into the plan: $45,000
• Combined 415(c) limit with super catch-up: $83,250, so she has $38,250 of headroom for additional employer profit-share if her plan allows

At a 32% federal marginal bracket, the pre-tax portion saves $7,840 in current-year federal taxes. The Roth $11,250 saves nothing today but grows tax-free for life.

Combined 415(c) Limits

The Internal Revenue Code §415(c) caps the combined contribution from employee, employer match, and employer profit-sharing to one employer's plan. For 2026:

• $72,000 if under age 50
• $80,000 if age 50-59 or 64+ (includes $8,000 catch-up)
• $83,250 if age 60-63 (includes $11,250 super catch-up)

Most W-2 employees never come close to the 415(c) limit because employer matches are typically capped at 3-6% of pay. The 415(c) ceiling matters most for: physician groups with high employer profit-sharing, partners in pass-throughs, and Solo 401(k) plans where the participant wears both employee and employer hats.

Coordinating With IRA Contributions

IRA limits are separate from 401(k) limits. For 2026 a 60-year-old can additionally contribute $8,600 to a Traditional or Roth IRA ($7,500 base + $1,100 IRA catch-up). Total tax-advantaged retirement contribution capacity at age 62, then, is $35,750 + $8,600 = $44,350, before counting employer contributions or HSA.

If the employee is covered by a workplace plan, Traditional IRA deductibility phases out at $81,000 to $91,000 single / $129,000 to $149,000 MFJ MAGI in 2026. Above those ranges the contribution becomes non-deductible (which may still be useful as the front end of a backdoor Roth). Roth IRA direct contributions phase out at $153,000 to $168,000 single / $242,000 to $252,000 MFJ.

What If Your Plan Doesn't Offer Roth?

This is the awkward situation SECURE 2.0 §603 creates. If you're a high earner (>$145k prior-year W-2 from the same employer) and your 401(k) plan does not offer a Roth designated account, you are not allowed to make catch-up contributions at all for 2026. Your contribution cap snaps back to the base $24,500.

Practical steps:

• Ask your HR or plan administrator whether the plan added a Roth option before January 1, 2026. Most large employers have.
• If not, escalate. Most plan sponsors will add it because the alternative is losing catch-up capacity for their highest-paid employees.
• If the plan refuses, route additional savings to: HSA ($8,750 family / $4,400 self for 2026), a Roth IRA (subject to phase-out), or taxable brokerage with tax-loss harvesting.

Mid-Year Age Changes and Multiple Employers

The age-as-of-December-31 rule means a participant who turns 60 on July 1, 2026 can contribute the full $35,750 for the year. A participant who turns 64 on July 1, 2026 is back to $32,500.

If you switch employers mid-year, the prior-year W-2 wage threshold for Roth catch-up resets at each employer (the test is per-employer, not aggregated across employers in the same year). The total elective deferral cap ($24,500 + applicable catch-up), though, is aggregated across all your 401(k) plans for the year. Going over because of dual employment requires a corrective distribution by April 15 of the following year.

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