The amount you can put into a 401(k) grew again for 2026. The standard employee contribution limit — what applies to every saver regardless of age — is now $24,500. * If you're 50 or older, you get an extra catch-up contribution on top of that: $8,000 more, bringing your total to $32,500 for the year. There's a bigger version of that catch-up for a specific age band: if you're between 60 and 63 and your employer's plan allows it, you can contribute a "super catch-up" of $11,250 instead of the standard $8,000, pushing your total possible contribution to $35,750. * One rule that changed how high earners use catch-up contributions: if you're 50 or older and your FICA-taxable wages were $150,000 or more, your catch-up contributions can no longer go into a pre-tax 401(k) — they have to go into a Roth 401(k) instead, meaning you pay tax on that money now instead of at withdrawal. This doesn't affect your standard $24,500 contribution, only the catch-up portion. * These limits apply per person, not per account — if you have more than one 401(k) across different jobs in the same year, your combined employee contributions across all of them still can't exceed these totals. Employer matching contributions are separate and don't count against your personal limit.