How much you can put into a 401(k) and IRA in 2025
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya · Unsplash
The 401(k) limit rose again for 2025, the IRA limit held steady, and a genuinely new catch-up tier arrived for a narrow age band. Here is the full table and what it means in practice.
For 2025, the IRS raised the 401(k) employee deferral limit to $23,500, while the IRA limit held at $7,000 for a second straight year. The more interesting change is not either of those numbers — it is a brand new catch-up tier for workers aged 60 to 63, created by the SECURE 2.0 Act rather than by the ordinary annual inflation adjustment. It is worth $3,750 a year more than the standard catch-up, for exactly four birthdays' worth of eligibility.
Every limit that changed for 2025
| Account | 2024 limit | 2025 limit | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k) / 403(b) employee deferral | $23,000 | $23,500 | +$500 |
| 401(k) catch-up, age 50-59 or 64+ | $7,500 | $7,500 | unchanged |
| 401(k) catch-up, age 60-63 (new) | n/a | $11,250 | new tier |
| Traditional / Roth IRA | $7,000 | $7,000 | unchanged |
| IRA catch-up, age 50+ | $1,000 | $1,000 | unchanged |
| HSA, self-only coverage | $4,150 | $4,300 | +$150 |
| HSA, family coverage | $8,300 | $8,550 | +$250 |
| SIMPLE IRA employee deferral | $16,000 | $16,500 | +$500 |
These figures are the IRS's own published 2025 limits, and as with every year, each account moves on its own schedule — the IRA limit holding steady says nothing about the 401(k) limit, which moved because it clears its own, smaller rounding increment more often.
Why the IRA limit did not move for 2025
IRA limits round in $500 steps, and inflation has to accumulate enough to justify a full step before the number changes at all. The limit rose to $7,000 for 2024 and stayed there for 2025 because the accumulated inflation since that increase had not yet cleared the next $500 threshold. This is arithmetic on the rounding rule, not a judgment that IRAs matter less than 401(k)s — the same pattern left the IRA limit unchanged for three straight years, 2019 through 2021, before it started moving again.
The genuinely new part: a catch-up tier just for ages 60-63
Every other change in the table above is the usual annual inflation adjustment. This one is not. Under a provision of the SECURE 2.0 Act that took effect in 2025, workers who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 at any point during the year get a catch-up contribution of $11,250 instead of the standard $7,500 available to everyone else 50 and older — 50% more, for a four-year window only. Turn 64 during the year and the catch-up reverts to the standard $7,500 figure; the higher tier is specific to those four ages, not a permanent step up once reached. A worker aged 62 contributing the full 2025 maximum can defer $34,750 into a 401(k) in one year — $23,500 standard plus the $11,250 enhanced catch-up — the highest figure this combination has ever reached.
What actually maxing out looks like at different ages
Take three workers earning $90,000, each maximizing their 401(k) for 2025:
| Age | Available limit | Share of gross income |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50 | $23,500 | 26.1% |
| 50-59 | $31,000 | 34.4% |
| 60-63 | $34,750 | 38.6% |
The gap between the youngest and oldest group is $11,250 a year, entirely from the new catch-up tier. The future value calculator turns any of these annual figures into a projected balance once a return assumption and a number of years are added, and the compound interest calculator shows what the extra $11,250 a year is worth if contributed for the full four-year window rather than skipped.
Roth or traditional — the limit covers both
A detail that trips people up every year: if a 401(k) plan offers both a traditional (pre-tax) and a Roth (after-tax) option, the $23,500 limit is one combined ceiling across both, not $23,500 into each separately. Someone contributing $15,000 to the traditional side and $8,500 to the Roth side has used the entire 2025 limit, the same as if all $23,500 went to one or the other. The choice between them is a bet on your tax rate now versus in retirement, but it does not change how much you are allowed to defer in total. A related change is worth watching even though it does not affect 2025: from 2026, anyone whose prior-year wages exceeded $150,000 will be required to make their entire catch-up contribution as Roth rather than traditional, under a SECURE 2.0 provision that was delayed twice before finally taking effect. It changes nothing about the 2025 limits above, but it is worth planning around before it applies.
The HSA moved too, and still carries three tax breaks
The Health Savings Account limit rose to $4,300 for self-only coverage and $8,550 for family coverage in 2025, each up modestly from 2024. An HSA remains the only account with all three tax advantages at once — pre-tax contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical costs — available to anyone enrolled in a qualifying high-deductible health plan, with an extra $1,000 catch-up at 55 and older.
What to check against your own plan
- Confirm your employer's 401(k) plan actually offers the enhanced 60-63 catch-up — plans must opt in to support it, and not every provider had it configured from day one of 2025.
- If you changed jobs mid-year, the $23,500 limit applies across all 401(k) plans combined for the year, not per employer.
- IRA deduction eligibility still phases out at higher incomes if you or a spouse is covered by a workplace plan — the contribution limit and the deduction limit are two different numbers.
Sources
This is general information, not financial or tax advice. All figures are 2025 IRS limits and do not reflect your specific plan rules, income phase-outs, or state tax treatment. For a decision about your own retirement contributions, speak to a financial adviser or tax professional.