Law and Policy
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2025 retirement plan limits now set
November 7, 2024
IRS Notice 2024-80 provides official 2025 limits for qualified defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans and Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 403(b) plans, matching Mercer’s earlier projections. The 2025 limits reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from the third quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of 2024.
| IRC retirement plan limit | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
IRC retirement plan limit 401(k), 403(b) and eligible 457 plan elective deferrals (and designated Roth contributions) |
2025 $23,500 |
2024 $23,000 |
IRC retirement plan limit 414(v)(2)(B)(i) catch-up contributions for employees ages >=50* |
2025 |
2024 |
IRC retirement plan limit For employees ages 60‒63 |
2025 11,250 |
2024 7,500 |
IRC retirement plan limit For all other employees |
2025 7,500 |
2024 7,500 |
IRC retirement plan limit 415(b) defined benefit plan annuity |
2025 280,000 |
2024 275,000 |
IRC retirement plan limit 415(c) defined contribution plan annual addition |
2025 70,000 |
2024 69,000 |
IRC retirement plan limit 401(a)(17) and 408(k)(3)(C) compensation |
2025 350,000 |
2024 345,000 |
IRC retirement plan limit 414(q)(1)(B) highly compensated employee (HCE) and 414(q)(1)(C) top-paid group† |
2025 160,000 |
2024 155,000 |
IRC retirement plan limit 416(i)(1)(A)(i) officer compensation for top-heavy plan key employee |
2025 230,000 |
2024 220,000 |
* Different limits apply to SIMPLE plans
† The HCE limit shown for a year is applied to compensation for that plan year to determine if an employee is an HCE for the following plan year, e.g., an employee with 2025 plan year compensation greater than $160,000 may be an HCE for the 2026 plan year.
Related resources
Non-Mercer resources
- Notice 2024-80 (IRS, Nov. 1, 2024)
Mercer Law & Policy resources
- User’s guide to SECURE 2.0 (regularly updated)
- Summary of 2024 benefit-related cost-of-living adjustments (Feb. 8, 2024)
- Quick benefit facts for 2025 (Nov. 6, 2024)
- Quick benefit facts and COLA resources for benefit plans (2021–2025)
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