Most people over 50 know about catch-up contributions — the extra $7,500 per year you can add to a 401(k) on top of the regular limit. What most people don’t know is that SECURE 2.0 created a second, higher tier. If you’re 60, 61, 62, or 63 by December 31 of the tax year, your catch-up limit is $11,250 — not $7,500.
Then, when you turn 64, it drops back to $7,500.
The window is exactly four years wide. This is not a ladder. It’s a plateau in the middle of the standard catch-up rules, and it lasts for ages 60 through 63 only.
How the numbers work in 2026
For 2026, the contribution limits for a Solo 401(k) or employer 401(k) look like this:
| Age range | Base limit | Catch-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 50 | $23,500 | — | $23,500 |
| 50–59 | $23,500 | $7,500 | $31,000 |
| 60–63 | $23,500 | $11,250 | $34,750 |
| 64 and older | $23,500 | $7,500 | $31,000 |
If you’re 61 this year and you max out your Solo 401(k), you put away $34,750 in employee deferrals. If you’re 59, you put away $31,000. Same plan, same year — $3,750 difference. Across the four-year window, that’s $15,000 in additional contributions that someone who’s 59 or 65 simply can’t make.
For a business owner in the 37% federal bracket plus New York state — call it combined 45% — that extra $3,750 per year saves roughly $1,690 in taxes annually compared to the standard catch-up. Over the full four-year window, the tax savings on the enhanced amount alone is $6,750+ above what you’d save with the standard catch-up.
That’s before you count the decades of tax-deferred growth on the extra contributions.
How Solo 401(k) owners claim it
If you run your business as a sole proprietor, partnership, or LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship, and you have a Solo 401(k), the super catch-up works exactly like the regular catch-up — you simply increase your employee deferral amount. No W-2 wages from your own business, no additional compliance hoops.
If your business is structured as an S-corp, there’s a rule effective in 2026 under SECURE 2.0: if your prior-year W-2 Box 3 wages from the S-corp were $150,000 or more, your catch-up contributions — including the super catch-up — must go into Roth. Not pre-tax.
That’s not a disaster. Roth contributions don’t reduce your 2026 tax bill, but they grow tax-free and come out tax-free in retirement. If you think tax rates will be higher when you retire than they are today, Roth is the right call anyway. But you need to know the rule exists so you coordinate with your plan administrator before you hit the contribution deadline.
S-corp owners paid below $150,000 in prior-year W-2 wages are not subject to the Roth mandate and can contribute the super catch-up as pre-tax deferrals.
Not sure if your retirement plan is set up to accept super catch-up contributions — or whether your S-corp wages trigger the Roth requirement? Schedule a call and we'll check the plan documents and run the numbers.
Employer contributions are separate
The super catch-up applies to employee deferrals — what you put in as the “employee” side of your Solo 401(k). The employer/profit-sharing contribution has its own calculation and its own limit.
Here’s what a fully maximized Solo 401(k) looks like for a 61-year-old with strong business income in 2026:
- Employee deferral (base): $23,500
- Super catch-up (ages 60–63): $11,250
- Employee total: $34,750
- Employer profit-sharing: up to 25% of net self-employment income, filling up to the overall combined cap of $70,000
The $70,000 overall limit includes all contributions — employee deferrals, catch-up, and employer match or profit-sharing. The full mechanics of how the employer side works, and how the Solo 401(k) compares to a SEP-IRA for high-income owners, are here: SEP-IRA vs. Solo 401(k).
Stacking this with a Roth conversion strategy
If you’ve been doing Roth conversions — deliberately converting pre-tax IRA or 401(k) money into Roth while your income is in a lower bracket before required minimum distributions kick in — the super catch-up fits alongside that strategy.
The contributions and the conversions serve different purposes. The super catch-up is about adding new money at your current high income; the Roth conversion strategy is about moving existing pre-tax balances into Roth before RMDs force additional income on you. Both are tools for reducing your lifetime tax bill. They don’t conflict — you can do both in the same year.
A few things to check before you contribute
Does your plan actually allow it? Plan sponsors have the option to exclude super catch-up contributions from their plan documents. Solo 401(k) plans vary by provider. Check your plan agreement explicitly — “catch-up contributions allowed” may not automatically include the 60–63 enhanced amount if the document predates the SECURE 2.0 implementation.
Are you tracking the calendar precisely? The super catch-up applies in the calendar year you turn 60, and the last calendar year you are 63. If you turn 64 on December 1, you do not get the enhanced catch-up for that year. The rule is age as of December 31.
Are you also maximizing the employer side? Many owners I talk to focus on the employee deferral and leave profit-sharing contributions on the table. If your business had a good year, run the employer contribution calculation too — it can shelter significantly more income than the employee side alone.
If you're between 60 and 63 and not using the enhanced catch-up, you're contributing less than the IRS is offering you. Book a call — we'll build out the full contribution strategy and make sure the plan documents are set up to accept it.
This post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Retirement contribution limits and plan rules change annually and vary by plan type. Confirm current limits with IRS publications and consult a qualified tax professional before making retirement planning decisions. Geiger Tax & Accounting serves clients nationwide — (631) 532-5622 · info@geigertax.com.