--- title: "2027 401(k) Limits: Projected $25,500, Dates, Rules" url: https://freshmags.com/2027-401k-limits/ type: post date: 2026-11-09 modified: 2026-11-09 markdown_url: https://freshmags.com/2027-401k-limits.md author: "Laibii Publisher" --- # 2027 401(k) Limits: Projected $25,500, Dates, Rules Updated: November 9, 2026 The 2027 401(k) limits are projected at $25,500 for employee contributions, up $1,000 from the official 2026 limit of $24,500. That figure comes from Milliman, a large actuarial firm, in its final forecast published on October 15, 2026. The Internal Revenue Service, known as the IRS, has not announced the official 2027 limits yet, so every 2027 number in this guide is a projection, not a final rule. The IRS is expected to release its official notice in mid-November 2026, and this guide will be updated the day that notice lands. > What are the projected 2027 401(k) limits? The projected 2027 401(k) limits put the deferral at $25,500, up from $24,500 in 2026. Workers age 50 and over can add a catch-up of $8,500, for a total of $34,000. Workers ages 60 to 63 can add a super catch-up of $11,750, for a total of $37,250. These are Milliman projections, and the IRS has not confirmed them yet. ## The Projected 2027 401(k) Limits at a Glance The table below shows the projected 2027 401(k) limits next to the official 2026 limits. Every 2027 figure is a projection from Milliman, and the IRS will confirm or adjust each one when its notice is published. The 2026 figures are official, because the IRS announced them in Notice 2025-67 on November 13, 2025. Limit2026 (official)2027 (projected) Employee elective deferral$24,500$25,500 Catch-up, age 50 and over$8,000$8,500 Super catch-up, ages 60 to 63$11,250$11,750 Total with catch-up, ages 50 to 59$32,500$34,000 Total with super catch-up, ages 60 to 63$35,750$37,250 Maximum annual addition$72,000$75,000 Compensation limit$360,000$375,000 Highly compensated employee threshold$160,000$170,000 Key employee and officer threshold$235,000$245,000 Roth catch-up wage threshold$150,000$155,000 The other limits matter more for higher earners, for people near retirement age, and for employers who run the plan. The maximum annual addition of $75,000 covers your own contributions plus your employer match and any other employer money, so it is the ceiling for the whole account in one year. The compensation limit of $375,000 caps how much of your pay counts when the plan calculates benefits and matches. ![2027 401(k) limits](https://freshmags.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/pexels-photo-6801643-scaled.jpeg) ## Why the 2027 401(k) Limits Are Still Projections The 2027 401(k) limits are projections because the IRS has not published its official notice yet. The IRS adjusts retirement plan limits for inflation, using price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it announces the new limits in a formal notice, usually in late October or November. For 2027, that notice had not arrived as of November 5, 2026, so no 2027 figure is official yet. The tax bracket figures for 2027 were already published in Revenue Procedure 2026-35, but retirement plan limits come in a separate IRS notice, expected in mid-November 2026. Milliman built its forecast from the inflation data that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on October 14, 2026. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, known as CPI-U, rose 3.7 percent for the 12 months that ended on September 30, 2026. Milliman estimated the annual increase factor at about 3.5 percent and applied it to the 2026 limits to produce its final estimates. The firm published those estimates on October 15, 2026, and in past years its forecasts have landed very close to the official IRS numbers, but a forecast is still not an official announcement. The IRS announced the 2026 limits on November 13, 2025, and the 2025 and 2024 limits on November 1 of the prior year. ## What Changed From the 2026 Limits to the 2027 Projections The jump from $24,500 to a projected $25,500 is a $1,000 rise in the amount you can save from your own pay. That extra $1,000 means about $83 more per month, or about $38 more per biweekly paycheck. It may look small next to a full salary, but over 20 or 30 years, an extra $1,000 a year plus growth can add up to a large sum. The rise reflects strong inflation in 2026, because the IRS formula ties the limits to the CPI-U, and the 3.7 percent rise in prices pushed the limits up by a full $1,000 step. The catch-up limits rose too, and they matter most for workers closer to retirement who are trying to save more in their final working years. The age 50 and over catch-up is projected at $8,500, up $500 from $8,000 in 2026. The super catch-up for ages 60 to 63 is projected at $11,750, up $500 from $11,250 in 2026. Those rises mean a worker age 60 to 63 could put away a projected $37,250 of their own money in 2027, the highest personal limit the 401(k) system has ever offered. The super catch-up comes from the SECURE 2.0 Act, a law that helps older workers save more just before retirement. The other projected limits rose as well, with the maximum annual addition up $3,000 to $75,000. ## Catch-Up Contributions in 2027: Who Gets Extra Room Catch-up contributions give older workers extra room to save, and the 2027 401(k) limits include two different catch-up amounts that depend on your age. If you are age 50 or older at any point in 2027, you can add a projected $8,500 on top of the $25,500 base limit. That brings your personal total to a projected $34,000. That rule applies to ages 50 to 59 and to age 64 and above. You do not need to apply for catch-up status, because your plan simply lets you contribute past the base limit once you reach the qualifying age. Workers ages 60 to 63 get an even larger catch-up under the SECURE 2.0 Act, and many savers still do not know about this rule. If you turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2027, you can add a projected $11,750 instead of the regular $8,500, which brings your personal total to a projected $37,250. The window is narrow, because it only covers those four ages. There is one more rule for higher earners. Under SECURE 2.0, workers whose prior-year wages from their employer were above a set threshold must make catch-up contributions as Roth contributions. That means the money goes in after tax. That wage threshold is projected at $155,000 for 2027, up from $150,000 in 2026. ## The Other Projected 2027 401(k) Limits Explained The maximum annual addition is the ceiling for all money that enters your 401(k) in one year, and the projected 2027 figure is $75,000, up from $72,000 in 2026. That total includes your own elective deferrals, your employer match, any profit-sharing money, and any after-tax contributions your plan allows. It does not include catch-up contributions, so a worker age 50 or over could have more than $75,000 go in. Most workers will never hit this ceiling, but it matters for high earners and for people whose employers add large profit-sharing amounts. The compensation limit is projected at $375,000 for 2027, up from $360,000 in 2026, and it caps the amount of your pay that the plan can use when it calculates benefits. If you earn more than $375,000, your plan will only count the first $375,000 when it works out your match or your profit-sharing share. The highly compensated employee threshold is projected at $170,000, up from $160,000, and it decides who counts as a highly compensated employee for plan testing. The key employee and officer threshold is projected at $245,000, up from $235,000, and it feeds into the top-heavy test, which checks whether the plan gives too much of its benefits to key employees. ## What About the 2027 IRA Limit? The 2027 IRA limit is the one big number that Milliman did not project, and that gap matters before you plan your 2027 saving. The official IRA limit for 2026 is $7,500, which the IRS set in Notice 2025-67, and the IRA catch-up for age 50 and over is $1,100 for 2026. Milliman left the IRA out of its final forecast, so there is no widely quoted projection for the IRA in 2027. Some analysts have run their own CPI math and suggested the IRA limit could rise to $8,000, while others think it may stay at $7,500. The IRS will confirm the figure when its notice is published. That uncertainty matters because many savers use both a 401(k) and an IRA. If the IRA limit stays at $7,500, your combined personal room would be $25,500 plus $7,500, or $33,000, before any catch-up money. If the IRA rises to $8,000, that combined room would be $33,500. Wait for the IRS notice before you lock in your IRA plan. Our comparison guide, [401(k) vs IRA Limits 2027: Which Plan Fits You Best](https://freshmags.com/401k-vs-ira-limits-2027/), covers this in more depth, including the income limits that decide whether your IRA contributions are tax deductible. ## How Much to Save and What to Do Before the IRS Notice Lands The projected 2027 401(k) limits are easier to use as a per-paycheck number, because that is how the money leaves your pay. If you are paid every two weeks, you get 26 paychecks a year, and $25,500 divided by 26 is about $981 per paycheck. If you are paid twice a month, you get 24 paychecks, and $25,500 divided by 24 is $1,062.50 per check. If you think in monthly terms, $25,500 divided by 12 is $2,125 a month. These are plain arithmetic from the projected figure. Catch-up money adds its own per-paycheck amount, and it is worth calculating separately so the total does not surprise you. The projected $8,500 catch-up divided by 26 biweekly paychecks is about $327 per check. A worker age 50 or over who wants the full $34,000 would need about $1,308 from each biweekly check. The super catch-up of $11,750 divided by 26 is about $452 per check, so a worker age 60 to 63 aiming for the full $37,250 would need about $1,433 per biweekly check. If the full limit is out of reach, save at least enough to get your full employer match, because the match is free money that you lose if you do not claim it. Our guide to the [401(k) contribution limit 2027](https://freshmags.com/401k-contribution-limit-2027/) walks through the per-paycheck math in more detail. The best time to prepare for the 2027 401(k) limits is now, while the IRS notice is still a few days away. First, log in to your 401(k) plan portal and check your current contribution rate, your year-to-date total, and whether you are on track to hit the 2026 limit of $24,500. If you are behind for 2026, you still have the rest of the year to raise your rate, and every extra dollar you put in before December 31 counts toward 2026. Second, decide what rate you will set for 2027, using $25,500 as your working target, and write the per-paycheck number down so you can enter it when your plan opens 2027 elections. ![2027 401(k) limits](https://freshmags.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/pexels-photo-12955822-scaled.jpeg) Third, check whether your plan lets you set your 2027 rate now, because some plans open next-year elections in November and others wait until January. If your plan is already open, enter the rate that gets you to $25,500, and set a reminder to check it again when the IRS notice lands. Fourth, if you will be age 50 or over in 2027, or ages 60 to 63, confirm that your plan supports catch-up contributions. Ask whether your catch-up money will be pre-tax or Roth. The [401(k) catch-up contribution 2027](https://freshmags.com/401k-catch-up-contribution-2027/) guide explains the age rules and the Roth catch-up rule in full. Finally, look at the rest of your money picture. If you carry high-interest debt, read our guide on [how to pay off debt fast with low income](https://freshmags.com/how-to-pay-off-debt-fast-with-low-income/) before you raise your 401(k) rate too far. Paying off expensive debt can beat extra saving in the short term. ## How the 2027 401(k) Limits Fit With the COLA and HSA The 2027 401(k) limits do not sit alone, because two other numbers for 2027 are already known, and they shape the same budget. The Social Security COLA for 2027 is 3.6 percent. The average retirement benefit will rise by about $75 a month, according to the Social Security Administration press release of October 14, 2026. That increase will reach nearly 72 million beneficiaries, but it is still only a cost-of-living adjustment, not a raise, so your 401(k) remains the place where your retirement income actually grows. Our full guide, [Social Security COLA 2027](https://freshmags.com/social-security-cola-2027/), covers the payment dates and the SSI increase that starts on December 31, 2026. The 2027 health savings account limits are already official, which shows how the IRS staggers its announcements. The IRS set the 2027 HSA limits in Revenue Procedure 2026-24, published on May 29, 2026, at $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family coverage. Those figures are final, and you can plan around them today. If you have a high-deductible health plan, the HSA is worth a look alongside your 401(k), because HSA money goes in tax-free, grows tax-free, and comes out tax-free for medical costs. Many savers fund the 401(k) up to the employer match first, then the HSA, then back to the 401(k). > When will the official 2027 401(k) limits be announced? The IRS usually announces new retirement plan limits in late October or November. It announced the 2026 limits on November 13, 2025, and the 2025 and 2024 limits on November 1 of the prior year. The official 2027 limits are expected in mid-November 2026, in a separate IRS notice. This guide will be updated the day that notice is published. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What are the 2027 401(k) limits? The projected 2027 401(k) limits set the employee contribution at $25,500, up from $24,500 in 2026. The catch-up for age 50 and over is projected at $8,500, and the super catch-up for ages 60 to 63 is projected at $11,750. These are Milliman projections from October 15, 2026, and the IRS has not confirmed them yet. ### Are the 2027 401(k) limits official yet? No, the 2027 401(k) limits are not official yet. The IRS has not published its notice for 2027 retirement plan limits as of November 5, 2026. Every 2027 number is a projection, and the official figures are expected in mid-November 2026. ### Who projected the $25,500 limit for 2027? Milliman, a large actuarial firm, projected the $25,500 limit in its final forecast published on October 15, 2026. The forecast used September CPI data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed prices up 3.7 percent over 12 months. ### How much can I contribute to my 401(k) in 2027? You can contribute a projected $25,500 from your own pay in 2027, if the IRS confirms the Milliman forecast. If you are age 50 or over, you can add a projected $8,500 catch-up, for a total of $34,000. Workers ages 60 to 63 can add $11,750, for a total of $37,250. ### What is the 401(k) catch-up limit for 2027? The catch-up for workers age 50 and over is projected at $8,500 for 2027, up from $8,000 in 2026. Workers ages 60 to 63 can use a larger super catch-up of $11,750 under the SECURE 2.0 Act. ### What is the super catch-up for ages 60 to 63? The super catch-up is a larger catch-up amount for workers who are 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the year. For 2027 it is projected at $11,750, which brings the personal total to $37,250. It comes from the SECURE 2.0 Act. ### What is the maximum total that can go into a 401(k) in 2027? The maximum annual addition is projected at $75,000 for 2027, up from $72,000 in 2026. It covers your contributions, your employer match, and other employer money, but not catch-up contributions. ### What is the 2027 IRA limit? The 2027 IRA limit is not known yet, and Milliman did not project it. The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500. Some analysts think it could rise to $8,000, while others think it may stay at $7,500. The IRS will confirm the figure. ### When does the IRS announce the new 401(k) limits each year? The IRS usually announces the new limits in late October or November. It announced the 2026 limits on November 13, 2025, and the 2025 and 2024 limits on November 1 of the prior year. The 2027 notice is expected in mid-November 2026. ### How much is $25,500 per paycheck? If you are paid every two weeks, $25,500 is about $981 per paycheck across 26 checks. If you are paid twice a month, it is $1,062.50 per check across 24 checks. On a monthly basis, it is $2,125 a month. ### Do employer matches count toward the $25,500 limit? No, employer matches do not count toward the $25,500 employee limit. The match counts toward the maximum annual addition, which is projected at $75,000 for 2027. Your own $25,500 is separate from what your employer adds. ### What happens if I contribute more than the limit? If you put in more than the limit, the extra money is called an excess deferral. It must be taken out by April 15 of the next year to avoid double tax. Tell your plan administrator as soon as you spot the problem, and ask for a corrective distribution. Learn more about how 401(k) plans work on Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/401(k)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/401(k))