Age 60–63? Here’s How to Max Out the 'Super Catch-Up' 401(k) Before 2026 Ends

The super catch-up is the biggest contribution 401(k) plans have ever allowed. But it ends the year you turn 64. To maximize your super catch-up contributions in the last quarter of 2026, make sure you are eligible by being aged 60, 61, 62 or 63 and verify that your employer's plan allows for super catch-up contributions of $11,250, in addition to the standard contribution limit of $24,500.

Here’s how.

What are super catch-up contributions?

If you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 in 2026, SECURE 2.0 lets you make higher catch-up contributions — $11,250 instead of the regular $8,000 — into your 401(k), 403(b), government 457(b) plans or Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Stack that $11,250 on top of the 2026 standard contribution limit of $24,500, and it’s $35,750. Any employer contributions can push the combined total even higher.

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But this super catch-up doesn’t last forever. When you turn 64, the super catch-up ends and you’re back to the regular $8,000, and October, November and December are the last months you can use it. Money taken from your paycheck usually has to be deposited in your 401(k) by December 31 to count for this year.

Grant Edmunds, a Moneta senior advisor and CFP, drives home the point: "The year you turn 64, that extra $3,250 disappears, and you are back to $32,500. A November birthday does not buy you another season."

Roth's for higher earners

Also this year, if your 2025 FICA wages from your employer were more than $150,000, any catch-ups, including the $11,250, must go into the Roth side of your plan. But the employee deferral limit of $24,500 can still be pre-tax, if the plan allows. If you're below $150,000, you can usually choose pre-tax or Roth for the catch-up.

Edmunds adds that people often wait until the new year to review their retirement plan because 2027 feels abstract until January. It isn’t.

"That extra $3,250 this year is capital that compounds through the rest of a career and the first decade of retirement." He adds that tax laws don't promise an enhanced limit, or that the Roth threshold will look the same after the next Congress. "You control this payroll cycle. You do not control the next one. Finish 2026 while the door is still open."

Here's what to do in the last quarter of 2026.

1. Find out where you stand now

Pratik Patel, head of wealth planning at BMO Wealth Management, recommends starting with a simple year-to-date check: How much have you contributed, what opportunities remain and what would you need to defer from your remaining paychecks? "Year-end planning is really about being intentional. You don't want to discover an unused savings opportunity after the year has closed."

Check your 401(k) or a recent paycheck stub for the total contributions you’ve already made in 2026. If you’re 60–63 and your plan allows the super catch-up, subtract that number from $35,750. That difference is what you can still contribute from your remaining 2026 paychecks to hit your maximum savings limit by year-end.

2. Raise your contribution

Most plans let you change how much you contribute to your 401(k) at any time. With 2026 coming to an end, you may realize the current percentage you’re adding to your retirement plan may miss the max.

For instance, say you still have $12,000 to contribute and six paychecks left. That’s about $2,000 per paycheck. Once you know how much is left, raise the percentage you contribute to your 401(k) to top out your contributions this year.

3. Coordinating with your spouse

If you and your spouse are both between the ages of 60 and 63 and both of your retirement plans allow the super catch-up amount, each of you can contribute $35,750 this year. That’s $71,500 for the two of you. However, if only one of you is 60 to 63, that person can use the super-catch-up amount of $11,250 and the other person can still add $8,000 if they are 50 or older.

Patal says, "Couples should look across both spouses' plans, employer matches, catch-up opportunities and tax treatment to determine how best to deploy their available savings dollars."

4. It’s different if you’re self-employed

If you’re self-employed, the money you put in as the "employee," including the $11,250 extra if you are 60–63, must be set aside by December 31. The extra "employer" contribution can often wait until you file your business taxes. Don’t wait until the last minute, or you may miss the December 31 deadline and lose this year’s employee catch-up.

What? Your plan doesn’t offer the super catch-up?

If your plan doesn’t allow for the super catch-up, you can still contribute the regular $32,500 ($24,500 + $8,000) if you’re 50 or older. After that, you can put up to $7,500 into a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, plus $1,100 more if you’re 50 or older, as long as you have enough earned income and you stay within IRA income rules for Roth contributions.

Don’t wait for "next year"

The super catch-up is available only in the four years you turn 60, 61, 62 and 63. After that, you return to the regular contribution amount of $8,000, even if the dollar limits rise in the future. Raising your 401(k) contribution in early October is much easier than pulling a large sum out of your last couple of paychecks. Check your plan, increase the amount coming out of each paycheck if you can and treat December 31 as the deadline.

Patel boils it down to this: "The bigger message is simple: don't leave available retirement savings opportunities on the table today based on what you think you might do next year."

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