Current tax law permits older individuals to contribute more to many types of tax-advantaged accounts than younger counterparts. These additional contributions are called “catch-up contributions” and several accounts have them.
In 2025, these extra amounts range from +$1,000 in an IRA to +$7,500 in 401(k) plans. For the latest catch-up contribution amounts, you can read our Account Contribution Limits page.
Regarding these catch-up contributions, we recently received the following reader question (paraphrased):
Does my actual birth date matter for my retirement contribution limits. For example, if I was born in November, do I need to wait until after I turn 50 in November to make my extra catch-up contribution? What about the new ages 60-63 catch-up contributions or the age 55 HSA catch-up; does my birth date matter for those?
Thankfully, the IRS does not care what specific day you were born on, only which year.
This is made clear for IRAs; 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans; SEP-IRAs; and SIMPLE IRAs in their “Retirement topics – Catch-up contributions ” article, where they write, “Individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions.”
This is also true for HSAs, as described in Publication 969, “If you are an eligible individual who is age 55 or older at the end of your tax year, your contribution limit is increased by $1,000.”
This is also true for the new age 60-63 catch-up contributions, where the new rates apply “in the case of an eligible participant who would attain age 60 but would not attain age 64 before the close of the taxable year.”
You can see that for all three of these your age is evaluated at the end of the year. In other words, what age you are at the end of December 31st dictates your catch-up contribution eligibility.
This type of end-of-year rule is common among IRS age evaluations, but one major exception is qualified charitable distribution eligibility. IRS Publication 590-B makes it clear, “You must be at least age 70½ when the distribution was made.”
If you have a question you’d like answered, feel free to share it with us. We often select new article topics from Contact Form requests we receive.
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