Millions of Americans in their late 50s are counting on a few more years of steady paychecks to shore up their retirement accounts, assuming that staying employed through 65 will close whatever savings gap remains.
The median retiree left the workforce at age 62, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reported in its 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. Active workers set a median target of 65, and that three-year gap erodes contributions, employer matches, and years of retirement savings.
Suze Orman, personal finance expert and host of the “Women & Money” podcast, warned that counting on a longer career to fill a savings gap carries more risk than most workers assume.
She pointed to a provision under federal law that lets workers between 60 and 63 boost their 401(k) contributions beyond the standard limit, but only for a narrow eligibility period that most workers overlook.
SECURE 2.0 opened a 4-year 401(k) window that closes at 64
Orman highlighted the “super catch-up” contribution in her blog post, urging workers approaching 60 to act on it before the eligibility period ends.
The super catch-up, created by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, allows workers between the ages of 60 and 63 to contribute $11,250 per year above the standard 401(k) limit, bringing the annual maximum to $35,750 for the 2026 tax year, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
That amount goes beyond the regular $8,000 catch-up contribution available to all workers 50 and older, and the enhanced ceiling disappears the calendar year a participant turns 64. Workers who miss the window revert to the lower catch-up limit with no way to reclaim the lost contribution room.
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A worker who maxes out the super catch-up from age 60 through 63 would contribute $143,000 over that span, compared with $130,000 under the standard catch-up for workers 50 and older, based on IRS contribution limits.
The base limit alone would total $98,000 over the same period, Moneywise reported. The $45,000 difference comes entirely from the enhanced allowance, and years of investment returns on those extra dollars could widen the gap before withdrawals begin.
Workers whose FICA wages from their employer exceeded $150,000 in the prior year face an added rule under the same law, because all catch-up contributions must flow into a Roth 401(k).
That trade-off means forgoing the upfront tax deduction in exchange for tax-free withdrawals later, the IRS confirmed.
EBRI data reveals why counting on working longer falls apart
The EBRI 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey found that 46% of retirees left the workforce earlier than they had originally planned. Among those who departed ahead of schedule, 41% cited a health problem or disability, and 35% pointed to changes at their employer such as downsizing, the survey showed.
About 74% of active workers told EBRI they planned to work for pay after retiring, but only 31% of retirees reported actually doing so, which suggests many Americans are building financial plans around income that may never arrive.
Orman argued in her blog post that building an entire retirement blueprint around continued employment creates a vulnerability workers cannot control, because health crises, corporate layoffs, and caregiving obligations operate on their own timeline and rarely offer advance warning.
<strong>Planning for retirement as if you will work until 65 or beyond is not wrong, but it cannot be your only plan</strong>
Orman added in the same post that workers who recognize that risk while still in their late 50s have tools like the super catch-up available to them, rather than confronting the gap after an involuntary exit from the workforce.
How Orman says workers should prepare before the window opens
Not every employer plan includes the super catch-up provision, and employers are not required to adopt it under the SECURE 2.0 Act, Moneywise reported.
Orman urged workers approaching 60 to verify their plan’s terms with their human resources department or plan administrator and calculate how the enhanced limit would affect their total balance over four years.
Orman also recommended eliminating mortgage debt before leaving the workforce, calling a paid-off home “one of the most powerful things you can do to reduce what retirement actually costs.”
Removing the monthly payment lowers the income a retiree needs from savings and Social Security each month, which gives the rest of a portfolio more room to grow.
Why the super catch-up demands a decision and not just awareness
Orman’s broader point is that the provision rewards action within a defined period, not passive awareness that it exists.
Workers who learn about enhanced contribution limits but treat them as a future consideration face a constraint that most retirement planning tools do not impose: a firm eligibility cutoff that the IRS will not extend.
Orman’s framing leaves workers with a binary choice: confirm access to the super catch-up and commit to the higher deferral during the eligible years, or accept a permanently lower lifetime contribution total.
Few retirement provisions frame the cost of inaction in such concrete and irreversible terms.
Related: Suze Orman warns of a 401(k) match error costing workers
