The higher catch up at ages 60 to 63

How it works

The regular catch up for workers 50 and older is $8,000 (2026, verified on the official page). For a worker who is 60 to 63 at the end of the calendar year, the plan may instead allow this year's official catch up 60 to 63 (not yet verified here; see the official source below), a higher figure set by law and indexed afterward. The age test is the age reached by December 31, so a worker who turns 64 during the year falls back to the regular catch up for that year. This is a plan feature, not a right, and a plan may offer the regular catch up without the higher one. The same Roth requirement for higher earners applies to this catch up as to the regular one. SIMPLE plans have their own, smaller version of the higher catch up.

What it gives

The four years before many people retire carry the largest contribution room of a working life.

The extra amount can go to the traditional or Roth side where the plan offers both.

The higher figure is indexed, so it keeps pace with inflation after its first year.

What it costs, or where the catch is

The window closes at the end of the year a worker turns 63, and age 64 drops back to the regular catch up.

Plans had to update their documents and payroll to offer it, and some have not.

A higher earner subject to the Roth requirement gets no deduction on this part.

A worked example

Harriet is 61 and earns $120,000, and her plan adopted the higher catch up. She fills the regular cap and the regular catch up, then adds $3,000 more under the age 60 to 63 rule. At a 24 percent rate the extra $3,000 saves $3,000 times 0.24, which is $720 in federal tax this year. Her coworker Victor, who is 58, is limited to the regular catch up and has no such extra room.

Where it goes wrong

The common miss is assuming the plan offers the higher amount without asking, and then finding the payroll system stopped at the regular catch up in December.

Who confirms it for you

For your own numbers, the plan administrator or HR. This page explains how the rule works for people in general; it does not know your situation and does not tell you what to do.

The official source

IRS: Retirement topics, catch up contributions. Every figure that changes by year comes from the site's rules table, which the watcher checks against the official page on a schedule; where a figure is not yet verified, this page says so instead of printing a number.