# Can I keep contributing to an IRA or 401(k) after I retire?

Canonical: https://theretirementdecisionlab.com/answers/can-i-keep-contributing-to-an-ira-or-401k-after-i-retire/
Section: Should you stop earning? (Retirement Decision Lab, Decision 2 · Week 2 · Wed Nov 11)
Facts checked: 2026-10-06 · Next review by: 2027-01-15
Reviewed by: Todd Allyn, Founding Director, Sovereo Intelligence Research

## Short answer

To an IRA, yes, at any age, as long as you or your spouse have earned income. A 401(k) only takes contributions from pay at the employer that sponsors it, so once you leave that job, your contributions stop.

## Detail

Since 2020 there is no age limit on regular contributions to traditional or Roth IRAs. The catch is compensation: you can contribute up to the annual limit or your taxable compensation for the year, whichever is less. That means pay for work, such as wages or self-employment earnings.

For 2026 the IRA limit is $7,500, plus a $1,100 catch-up at 50 or older, for $8,600 total. A married couple filing jointly can use one spouse's pay to fund an IRA for the other, as long as combined contributions do not exceed their combined taxable compensation. Example: you are retired, your spouse earns $20,000. Both of you can put in $8,600, a total of $17,200, because that is below $20,000.

A 401(k) is funded by deferrals from your paycheck at that employer. For 2026 the employee limit is $24,500, plus $8,000 at 50 or older. If you turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 in 2026, the catch-up is $11,250 instead, for $35,750 total. Starting in 2026, if your prior-year wages from that employer were over $150,000, catch-up contributions must go in as Roth.

Roth IRAs also have income limits. In 2026 the ability to contribute phases out between $153,000 and $168,000 for single filers and between $242,000 and $252,000 for married couples filing jointly.

What the rule of thumb misses: a few years of part-time work after leaving a full-time job can keep IRA contributions going. Over-contributing triggers a 6% tax each year until the excess is removed.

## Where it gets personal

In Week 2 you check whether the work you plan to keep generates enough earned income to keep saving, and how much. The Retirement Decision Lab: https://theretirementdecisionlab.com/

## Sources

1. Retirement topics: IRA contribution limits, Internal Revenue Service: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits
2. Retirement topics: 401(k) and profit-sharing plan contribution limits, Internal Revenue Service: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-401k-and-profit-sharing-plan-contribution-limits
3. Retirement topics: Catch-up contributions, Internal Revenue Service: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-catch-up-contributions
4. 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500, Internal Revenue Service: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500

Education only. Not financial, tax, investment, immigration or legal advice.
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