Catch-up Contributions: Overview, Rules, Example

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Jun 6, 2025 at 9:12 PM | Fact-checked by Robin Hartill, CFP

Key Points

Catch-up contributions allow people 50 and older to invest beyond normal limits to bolster their retirement funds.
The base catch-up contribution limits are $7,500 for 401(k)s and $1,000 for IRAs in 2025.
Workplace plans, such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s, have catch-up contributions of up to $11,250 for people ages 60 to 63.

Saving for retirement can be a challenge, especially if you don't have the money to contribute to your retirement account until later in your career. For these situations, there are catch-up contributions. Let's walk through what catch-up contributions are and how they work.

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Jar labeled Retirement and half-filled with cash and coins — Image source: Getty Images.

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

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