Older Workers to Get ‘Super’ 401(k) Catch-Up Contributions in 2025

By Ann Carrns - Nov. 8, 2024

Will you be age 60 to 63 next year? Lucky you! You have the option to contribute several thousand dollars more to your workplace retirement plan.

Federal tax law already allows people 50 and older to make extra contributions, above the annual deferral limit, to a 401(k) or similar employer retirement plan. This year and next, that standard “catch-up” contribution is $7,500.

But starting next year, the catch-up contribution limit will be higher for people in their early 60s, as part of the federal Secure 2.0 tax law passed in 2022. They can contribute up to $11,250 next year — an additional $3,750 in catch-up contributions — beyond the general 2025 deferral limit of $23,500, the Internal Revenue Service said. That means they can potentially contribute up to $34,750 in total to a workplace retirement account.

In addition to participants in 401(k) plans, workers contributing to 403(b) plans offered by schools and nonprofit groups, 457(b) plans offered by many state and local governments, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan are eligible to make the extra contributions.