Updated October 9, 2026. Quick answer: for 2026, the standard 401(k) catch-up contribution for savers age 50 and up is $8,000, and the SECURE 2.0 “super catch-up” for savers who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the year is $11,250, per IRS Notice 2025-67. A related figure, the Roth catch-up wage threshold, is $150,000 for 2026 (based on 2025 wages): anyone who earned more than that from their employer the prior year must make their catch-up contributions on a Roth (after-tax) basis, not pre-tax. The 2027 versions of all three figures are not yet announced; the IRS publishes them in its annual retirement-plan limits notice, expected late October to mid-November 2026 (the 2026 notice is IRS Notice 2025-67).
The employee copy of Form W-2, read box by box: W-2 box 13 retirement plan.
The 2026 catch-up and contribution limits: the 2026 401(k) catch-up limits and the 2026 401(k) contribution limits.
The three catch-up figures, 2025 to projected 2027
| 2025 | 2026 | Projected 2027 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard catch-up, age 50+ | $7,500 | $8,000 | $8,500 (Milliman, Aug 13, 2026) |
| “Super catch-up,” ages 60-63 | $11,250 | $11,250 | $11,750 (Milliman, Aug 13, 2026) |
| Roth catch-up wage threshold | $145,000 | $150,000 | $155,000 (Milliman, Aug 13, 2026) |
Three catch-up rules, not one
All three figures live under 26 U.S.C. §414(v) but move on different logic. The standard age-50 catch-up (§414(v)(2)(B)(i)) and the age-60-63 super catch-up (§414(v)(2)(E)(i), a SECURE 2.0 provision first effective in 2025) are both annual cost-of-living amounts the IRS resets each November. The Roth catch-up wage threshold (§414(v)(7)(A)) is a separate, newer rule: starting with 2026 catch-up contributions, anyone whose FICA wages from the same employer exceeded the threshold in the prior year (2025, for the 2026 threshold) cannot make catch-up contributions pre-tax at all; they must be Roth. A saver over 50 stacks the standard catch-up on top of the regular elective-deferral limit; a saver who is 60-63 in the plan year gets the higher super-catch-up figure instead of the standard one, not in addition to it.
The rates are already settled. Only the thresholds are still moving.
That is enough to plan against. A Roth conversion, a deferred bonus or a gain taken in 2027 can be sized today against the 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37% rates the statute already fixes, without waiting for the Revenue Procedure. If you want someone to price that decision against your own income rather than a projection, this is the point to ask.
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Sources
The 2026 figures on this page were checked against IRS Notice 2025-67 on September 29, 2026.
- IRS Notice 2025-67: 2026 catch-up and Roth catch-up wage threshold figures.
- IRS, Retirement Topics – Catch-Up Contributions: explains the Roth catch-up mandatory-basis rule.
- IRS, "COLA Increases for Dollar Limitations on Benefits and Contributions": the IRS table of cost-of-living adjustments to retirement plan limits, 2026 and earlier years.
2027 projection: Milliman, August 13, 2026.
Statute: 26 U.S.C. §414(v).
Related
General information, not tax or legal advice. This page will be updated with the official 2027 figure the day it is announced.