Turn 50 anytime in 2026 — even December 31st — and the IRS treats you as though you'd been 50 all year. That's the kind of detail that actually changes what you should do with your last paycheck of the year, and it's exactly the sort of thing a bare limits table never tells you.
The numbers themselves
Standard employee deferral limit: $24,500, up from $23,500 in 2025. Catch-up for those 50 and older: an extra $8,000, for $32,500 total. The "super catch-up" — a narrower SECURE 2.0 provision for ages 60 through 63 specifically — allows $11,250 instead, bringing the total to $35,750. That enhanced tier is strictly age-gated: turn 64, and you drop straight back to the standard $8,000 catch-up for that year and every year after. It doesn't continue once you're past 63. The combined employee-plus-employer ceiling sits at $72,000, rising to $80,000 with standard catch-up or $83,250 with the super catch-up.
The new rule that trips up high earners
Starting in 2026, anyone 50 or older whose prior-year FICA wages hit $150,000 or more has to make catch-up contributions as Roth — after-tax — rather than traditional pre-tax, assuming their plan offers a Roth option at all. If it doesn't, those catch-up contributions simply aren't available until the plan adds one. This is a real shift in the near-term tax picture: Roth contributions don't lower your taxable income the way traditional ones do, since you're paying the tax now instead of at withdrawal.
The employer match lives outside your personal limit
Your $24,500 deferral cap covers only what comes out of your own paycheck — employer matching and profit-sharing sit in a separate bucket entirely. That's exactly why the combined $72,000 ceiling towers over the personal deferral limit; it's making room for the employer's contribution on top of yours.
Should you actually max it out?
Get the full employer match first — it's free money, full stop — and have a real emergency cushion in place before pushing further. Past that point, whether to keep stacking 401(k) contributions or split toward a Roth IRA or taxable brokerage account comes down to your current tax bracket against your likely bracket in retirement, plus how much access you want to the money before 59½, when early 401(k) withdrawals typically trigger a penalty that a Roth IRA's contributions (though not earnings) can sidestep.
IRAs got a bump too
Traditional and Roth IRA contribution limits rose to $7,500 for 2026, up from $7,000, with a $1,100 catch-up for those 50 and older — entirely separate room from whatever you're putting into a 401(k).
Model how these contributions compound over time with the Compound Interest Calculator, or see your full retirement trajectory with the Retirement Calculator.
A few things people actually ask
Does the super catch-up continue after age 63?
No — it's strictly limited to the calendar years you're 60 through 63. Turn 64, and you revert permanently to the standard $8,000 catch-up.
I turn 50 in December — do I still get the full catch-up for the year?
Yes. Eligibility is based on your age as of December 31, so turning 50 at any point during 2026 qualifies you for the full catch-up contribution for the entire year.
What happens if my plan doesn't offer a Roth option and I'm subject to the new high-earner rule?
You simply won't be able to make catch-up contributions at all until your plan adds a Roth option — the rule doesn't create an exception, it removes the ability to use pre-tax catch-up contributions.