Suze Orman says there's a four-year window to supercharge your 401(k) — and the clock starts at 60

Yet, the median age of retirement is 62, and just 31% of retirees are still working.

That’s because not all workers get to retire on their own terms. Corporate downsizing, health issues, caregiving duties or even burnout might force someone to retire earlier than planned.

That’s why Suze Orman says in a recent blog post that “I’ll work longer” is not a retirement strategy.

And planning to work until 65 can be risky.

“Planning for retirement as if you will work until 65 or beyond is not wrong — but it cannot be your only plan,” she writes. And there’s a four-year window in which working Americans can supercharge their 401(k).

What to know about catch-up contributions

Orman recommends saving more aggressively while you still can. “If you are 50 or older, the IRS allows catch-up contributions that most people underutilize,” she writes. But there’s also a “super catch-up” provision that can help — and the clock starts at 60.

If you’re 50 or older, you can make catch-up contributions to various retirement savings plans, including 401(k)s, traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. If you’re 55 or over, you can also make catch-up contributions to a health savings account (HSA).

If you have both a 401(k) and an IRA? You can make catch-up contributions to both.

In an ideal world, you’ve been contributing to at least one of these accounts since you entered the workforce. But that’s not always the case. Catch-up contributions allow you to “catch up” with any shortfalls in savings, especially if you’ve started saving later in life.

And, under the SECURE Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0), if you’re between the ages of 60 to 63, you can make a “super catch-up” contribution to boost your savings further.

Keep in mind, though, that not all workplace plans offer catch-up or super catch-up contributions. Even if they do, they may not offer an employer match on those contributions.

Workplace retirement plans: The annual contribution limit for a 401(k) in 2026 is $24,500. But, if you’re 50 or older, you can make an annual catch-up contribution of $8,000. And, if you’re between the ages of 60 to 63, you can make a super catch-up contribution of $11,250, for a maximum contribution of $35,750 per year.

However, a change under SECURE 2.0 stipulates that if you earn $150,000 or more, catch-up contributions to your 401(k) must be made to a Roth 401(k). That means you’ll lose out on the upfront tax deduction, but you’ll see benefits from tax-free earnings and withdrawals after the account has been open for five years.

Individual retirement accounts: You can also make a catch-up contribution of $1,100 to your IRA for the 2026 tax year, above the $7,500 standard limit, for a maximum contribution of $8,600. There are no super catch-up options for IRAs.

You can contribute a traditional IRA (which uses pre-tax dollars) or a Roth IRA (which uses after-tax dollars) — or both. Whatever the case, you can’t exceed the annual contribution limit. Keep in mind that to contribute to a Roth IRA, you must make less than $153,000 in 2026 (or $242,000 for married couples filing jointly).

Health savings accounts: You can also make catch-up contributions to a health savings account (HSA), which uses pre-tax dollars to fund qualifying future medical expenses (so long as you’re enrolled in a high-deductible health plan).

For 2026, the annual contribution limit is $4,400 for individual plans and $8,750 for family plans. The catch-up contribution doesn’t kick in until age 55, and at that point you can save an additional $1,000 each tax year.

Other considerations

If you max out your super catch-up contribution to a 401(k) over four years, starting at age 60, that means you could save an extra $45,000 — above and beyond the maximum contribution amount of $98,000 over those four years. And that doesn’t include the compound interest you’ll accumulate over that period.

That could significantly boost your retirement savings — but everyone’s situation is different (and not everyone has access to a workplace retirement plan).