TSP Catch-Up Contributions 2026: Super Catch-Up (Ages 60–63) + New Roth Requirement

Two major SECURE 2.0 changes hit TSP simultaneously in 2026. If you're 60–63, you can contribute $11,250 more than the standard catch-up. If you earned over $150,000 in 2025, your catch-up contributions above the base $24,500 must now go to Roth — whether you planned it that way or not. This guide explains both rules, who they affect, and what to do before year-end.

The super catch-up for ages 60–63 (SECURE 2.0 §109)

Before SECURE 2.0, catch-up contributions were the same for everyone over 50: $7,500 in 2025, $8,000 in 2026. Starting in 2025, employees who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the calendar year get a bigger catch-up — the greater of $10,000 (indexed) or 150% of the standard catch-up. For 2026 that works out to $11,250.¹

Who qualifies: You must turn age 60, 61, 62, or 63 at any point during 2026. If you turned 60 in January, you get the higher limit for all of 2026. If you turn 64 this year, you revert to the standard $8,000 catch-up — the super catch-up is exclusively for that four-year window.

Why the 60–63 window is strategic for federal employees: These are often the peak earning and peak contribution years before FERS retirement. Many GS-14/15 employees hit their top step and locality during this period. Adding $3,250/year over four years versus the standard catch-up means up to an additional $13,000 in tax-advantaged contributions right before retirement — contributions that can grow tax-deferred (or tax-free in Roth) for decades.

Mandatory Roth catch-up for $150K+ earners (SECURE 2.0 §603)

This is the bigger surprise in 2026 for senior federal employees. Under §603, if your FICA wages from your current employer in the prior year exceeded $150,000, every dollar of catch-up you contribute in 2026 must go into Roth TSP — not Traditional. The threshold for 2026 is based on your 2025 W-2 Box 3 wages.³

What FICA wages include

FICA wages (W-2 Box 3) include your base salary, locality pay, bonuses, performance awards, and most taxable fringe benefits. They exclude retirement contributions (TSP traditional is excluded from Box 3 but included in Box 1), but importantly, FEHB premiums are excluded from FICA — so FEHB doesn't reduce your FICA wage figure.

Which federal employees are affected in 2026

If your 2025 salary exceeded $150,000, you're in the mandatory Roth catch-up bucket for 2026. Approximate thresholds by grade:

What happens mechanically

You don't manually designate catch-up contributions as Roth. Here's how it flows:

1. You contribute to Traditional TSP (or Roth, your choice) up to $24,500.
2. Once you hit $24,500 for the year, your payroll office — not you — routes any additional TSP contributions automatically to Roth TSP.
3. This happens regardless of what you elected in myPay. The payroll system overrides for the catch-up portion.
4. If you haven't opened a Roth TSP account, the TSP will create one automatically when the first mandatory Roth catch-up contribution arrives.

Worked example: GS-15 step 5, DC area, age 61

The TSP spillover method — no separate catch-up election needed

Since 2021, the TSP uses an automatic "spillover" method for catch-up contributions. You no longer need to file a separate catch-up election form. You simply elect a contribution percentage in myPay or Employee Express that would take you past $24,500 for the year, and the TSP automatically treats contributions above that limit as catch-up contributions.¹

How to set your contribution to capture the full super catch-up:

1. Calculate the biweekly amount needed: $35,750 ÷ 26 pay periods = $1,375/biweekly (or $1,376 to ensure you don't fall short).
2. Convert to a percentage: $1,376 ÷ your gross biweekly salary. For a GS-15 at $189,000: biweekly gross ≈ $7,269. Percentage needed: $1,376 ÷ $7,269 = ~19%.
3. Set that percentage in myPay. The TSP handles the rest — first $24,500 to Traditional (or Roth per your election), next $11,250 automatically treated as catch-up (and routed to Roth if you're over the $150K threshold).

Mid-year start: If you're starting in summer or fall, you may need a higher percentage to hit the full annual limit before December. For example, starting in July with 13 pay periods remaining: $35,750 ÷ 13 = $2,750/biweekly, which may not be feasible at lower grades. In that case, contribute as much as you can and note to start higher next January.

Roth vs. Traditional for the base $24,500

The mandatory Roth rule only applies to the catch-up portion. Your first $24,500 is still your choice.

For most GS-14/15 federal employees planning to retire at MRA or slightly after, the typical advice is Traditional now (to reduce taxable income at 24–32%), then Roth conversions during the low-income window between MRA and age 70. But the mandatory Roth catch-up is forcing some pre-conversion via the TSP, which may actually be beneficial given the 0% RMD treatment of Roth TSP balances.

See the FERS Roth conversion strategy guide for detailed bracket math on the MRA-to-70 conversion window.

IRMAA: the cliff that affects catch-up strategy

If you're contributing catch-up to Traditional TSP, that money reduces your current taxable income and helps keep MAGI below the IRMAA thresholds. But in retirement, large Traditional TSP distributions push MAGI up and can spike your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. The 2026 IRMAA first-tier threshold is $109,000 for single filers and $218,000 for MFJ.⁴

The irony for high earners: the mandatory Roth catch-up (§603) is actually IRMAA-friendly in retirement, because Roth TSP distributions don't count toward Medicare IRMAA MAGI. Over a 20-year retirement, this can easily save more in IRMAA surcharges than any current-year tax savings from Traditional treatment would have provided.

Common mistakes with TSP catch-up in 2026

• Not adjusting contribution percentage: The TSP doesn't automatically escalate your contributions to hit the higher super catch-up limit. You have to go into myPay and raise the percentage. If you're still at the percentage that got you to $32,500 last year, you'll cap out $3,250 short this year.
• Assuming your catch-up is Traditional when it's not: High earners who haven't read the §603 rule may see Roth catch-up contributions on their mid-year TSP statement and think there's an error. It's intentional. Check your statement in July to confirm things are flowing correctly.
• Stopping contributions before year-end: If you hit what you think is the limit in November and stop contributing, you may have undershot. Verify the running total in your TSP account against the $35,750 ceiling (if 60–63).
• Ignoring the age 64 cliff: If you turn 64 this year, your catch-up limit drops from $11,250 back to $8,000. Employees who set their percentage to capture the super catch-up and then don't adjust when they turn 64 can still contribute (the TSP accepts up to $32,500 at 64+), but the math changes.
• Not counting agency contributions toward the total: The $35,750 super catch-up ceiling is for employee contributions only. Agency contributions (1% automatic + match) go on top and are not capped by the same limit. You're not crowding out agency match by contributing the super catch-up.

How the super catch-up fits your FERS retirement strategy

The most powerful use of ages 60–63 super catch-up contributions is timing them to your FERS retirement date. If you're planning to retire at MRA (typically 56–57 for those born 1970+) or at 60+20, consider whether you can push retirement to at least partial overlap with the 60–63 window to capture the higher limit. Four years of $11,250 catch-up versus $8,000 is $13,000 of additional tax-advantaged accumulation — equivalent to several months of FERS annuity on present-value terms.

Also relevant: the FERS high-3 window and the TSP super catch-up window often overlap. Employees who delay retirement from age 59 to 62 to hit the 1.1% multiplier threshold also get two to three years of super catch-up as a byproduct. The combination — higher annuity and larger TSP balance — compounds significantly. See the FERS high-3 salary optimization guide for the retirement-date timing math.