{"id":1962,"date":"2026-04-30T13:51:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prodmultisitehen.eplan-inc.corp\/marketing\/?post_type=article&#038;p=1962"},"modified":"2026-09-30T08:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T14:20:00","slug":"four-things-about-your-401k-that-are-changing-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/secure.eplanservices401k.com\/marketing\/article\/four-things-about-your-401k-that-are-changing-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Four things about your 401(k) that are changing in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 2026, some of the rules governing your 401(k) plan will change: contribution limits are increasing, catch-up contributions for some will have to be made on a Roth basis, and compensation limits are going up. We\u2019ve summarized these rule changes for you, so you can go into 2026 confident in your retirement plan offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaways:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>401(k) employee deferral limits are <strong>increasing to $24,500<\/strong> (from $23,500)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The total contribution limit on 401(k) plans is <strong>rising to $72,000<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High earners will have to make their catch-up contributions on a <strong>Roth basis<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Compensation limits are <strong>increasing to $360,000<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1<\/strong>. <strong>Participant contribution limits are going up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2026, individuals will be allowed to defer up to $24,500 towards their 401(k) or similar retirement savings plan (like a 403(b) or the government\u2019s Thrift Savings Plan). This is an increase of $1,000 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Catch-up contribution limits are also being raised. If you\u2019re over 50, in 2026 you\u2019ll be able to make $8,000 in catch-up contributions. That\u2019s $500 more compared to 2025\u2019s limit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing that isn\u2019t changing is the limit on higher catch-up contributions that kick in if you\u2019re aged 60-63. Those contributions are remaining at $11,250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over on the IRA side of retirement planning (we know many of our readers have both a 401(k) and an IRA!), contribution limits are also increasing to $7,500 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2<\/strong>. <strong>The total contribution limit is increasing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Establishing a retirement plan is a\u00a0<a href=\"\/marketing\/article\/how-retirement-benefits-affect-your-employee-retention-strategy\/\">good way for organizations to boost retention<\/a>, especially when employers offer a match on contributions or leverage a\u00a0<a href=\"\/marketing\/our-services\/safe-harbor-401k\/\">Safe Harbor plan<\/a>\u00a0to contribute a specific amount to their participants\u2019 retirement accounts. These employer contributions are subject to a separate limit, and that\u2019s going up in 2026 also. It will\u00a0<strong>increase to $72,000.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that an employee who defers the maximum $24,500 can also benefit from an additional $47,500 in employer 401(k) contributions. If you\u2019re an employer seeking to retain key personnel, consider increasing your match: your employees are more likely to remain comfortably under this increased limit in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3<\/strong>. <strong>High earners will have to make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/marketing\/article\/catch-up-contribution-rules\/\">We\u2019ve covered this in detail before<\/a>: starting in 2026, highly paid individuals aged 50 and above will have to make their catch-up contributions to a Roth account (i.e. they pay taxes on those contributions\u00a0<em>now<\/em>). A highly paid individual is someone paid more than $150,000 in W-2 wages in the prior year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ePlan Services can help you adopt a Roth option on your plan at no additional charge. This is important:&nbsp;<strong>you may be prevented from making any catch-up contributions on your plan<\/strong>&nbsp;until you adopt this option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a plan with us and do not currently offer a Roth option, you\u2019ll be alerted when you sign in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figure class=\"content__figure\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"154\" src=\"http:\/\/prodmultisitehen.eplan-inc.corp\/marketing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/catch-up-contributions-task-card-1024x154.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1963\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.eplanservices401k.com\/marketing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/catch-up-contributions-task-card-1024x154.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/secure.eplanservices401k.com\/marketing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/catch-up-contributions-task-card-300x45.jpg 300w, https:\/\/secure.eplanservices401k.com\/marketing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/04\/catch-up-contributions-task-card.webp 1503w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Click&nbsp;<strong>See Options&nbsp;<\/strong>to begin the Roth setup process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. <strong>Compensation limits will increase in 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>They\u2019re going up by $10,000, to $360,000. A compensation limit means that only income up to that point can be considered when calculating contributions. It has implications for compliance testing (such as non-discrimination testing) and compensation matching formulas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like assistance determining the exact impact of this change on your 401(k) plan, contact your financial advisor. Don\u2019t work with a financial advisor? We\u2019ve been cultivating a network of the best in the USA and would be happy to send you options suited to your needs:&nbsp;<a href=\"#salesModal\">reach out<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1964,"template":"","categories":[10,15,12,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1962","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-for-advisors","category-for-businesses","category-for-individuals"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Four things about your 401(k) that are changing in 2026 - ePlan Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/secure.eplanservices401k.com\/marketing\/article\/four-things-about-your-401k-that-are-changing-in-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four things about your 401(k) that are changing in 2026 - ePlan Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2026, some of the rules governing your 401(k) plan will change: contribution limits are increasing, catch-up contributions for some will have to be made on a Roth basis, and compensation limits are going up. 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