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If you’re an older worker who wants to boost retirement savings, you could benefit from a big 401(k) change, experts say.
For 2025, you can defer up to $23,500 into your 401(k), up from $23,000 in 2024, and workers age 50 and older can make an extra $7,500 in catch-up contributions. But starting this year, workers age 60 to 63 also have what some experts are calling “super catch-up” contributions.
Enacted via the Secure Act 2.0, the 2025 catch-up contribution for workers age 60 to 63 jumps to $11,250, which brings the total employee deferral limit to $34,750 for this group. (The defined contribution limit, which includes your company match, profit sharing and other employer deposits, is even higher.)
Generally, ages 60 to 63 are a “pretty good sweet spot,” among your higher-earning years, which can make it easier to save more, according to certified financial planner Abigail Rose, director of tax planning for Keeler & Nadler Family Wealth in Dublin, Ohio.
But most workers aren’t maxing out their 401(k) or regular catch-up contributions, according to Vanguard’s 2025 How America Saves report, which is based on more than 1,400 plans and nearly 5 million participants.
In 2024, nearly all Vanguard plans offered catch-up contributions, but only 16% of eligible workers made these deferrals, the report found. These were typically higher earners with bigger account balances.
Most plans offer super catch-up contributions
Cash flow permitting, super 401(k) catch-up contributions “can easily be done, as long as you’re aware of it,” said CFP Jim Guarino, managing director at Baker Newman Noyes in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Only 3% of retirement plans hadn’t added the feature for 2025 as of May, according to Fidelity data. For those plans, catch-up contributions automatically stop once deferrals reach $7,500, the company told CNBC.
With roughly four months until year-end, there is still time to increase 401(k) contributions to max out deferral and catch-up contribution limits for 2025.
The higher 401(k) catch-up is “a great tool in the toolbox,” especially for higher earners looking for a tax deduction, Dan Galli, a CFP and owner of Daniel J. Galli & Associates in Norwell, Massachusetts, previously told CNBC.
While pretax 401(k) contributions offer an up-front tax break, you’ll pay regular income taxes on withdrawals, depending on your future tax bracket.
