Maximize retirement contributions within 2026 limits

Where this step fits

Step 7 chooses the tax-advantaged account jobs. Step 8 coordinates household contribution limits, employer plans, and self-employed options around the Step 3 retirement target. Step 9 directs true excess toward flexible taxable investing.

Use the retirement target before using the limits

Bring the annual savings requirement connected to the Step 3 retirement number. Confirm the starter and full emergency reserves, high-interest debt work, and near-term obligations remain stable. A legal maximum is only account capacity; it does not answer how much this household should save or whether cash flow can support it.

• Protect every affordable Step 2 employer match.
• Use raises, completed savings transfers, and eliminated debt payments before lifestyle inflation absorbs them.
• Compare the total contribution plan with the retirement target and the next incomplete Blueprint priority.

Separate employee deferrals from total plan additions

For 2026, the standard employee deferral limit for a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, and governmental 457(b) is $24,500. Plans may permit an $8,000 catch-up beginning at age 50 or an $11,250 catch-up for someone who is age 60 through 63 during 2026. Traditional and Roth employee deferrals use the same employee limit; choosing both does not double it.

• The defined-contribution annual-additions ceiling is generally the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of eligible compensation for the plan.
• Employee base deferrals, employer matches, nonelective contributions, voluntary after-tax contributions, and forfeitures generally count toward annual additions; eligible catch-up contributions generally do not.
• No more than $360,000 of compensation can be considered for certain 2026 contribution calculations.
• Employer contributions generally do not reduce the employee's $24,500 deferral limit, but they can reduce remaining $72,000 plan capacity.

One person can have several plans without receiving several personal limits

Employee deferrals to 401(k), 403(b), TSP, SIMPLE, and Solo 401(k) arrangements generally aggregate by person. A governmental 457(b) has a separate limit, although employee and applicable employer contributions share that 457(b) limit. Each spouse has their own individual employee-deferral capacity.

• Traditional and Roth IRAs share one $7,500 per-person 2026 limit, or $8,600 at age 50 and older.
• The IRA limit is also constrained by taxable compensation, and Step 7's Roth MAGI rules still apply.
• Employee and employer HSA contributions share the $4,400 self-only or $8,750 family 2026 limit. Eligible age-55 catch-ups belong in the eligible spouse's own HSA.
• A family HSA base limit is shared by the household; it is not multiplied because both spouses have HSA accounts.

Allocate matches first, then move through the tax-advantaged layers

The calculator follows a decision-first order: capture every affordable match, fill an eligible HSA, fund each IRA path selected in Step 7, use remaining regular workplace or self-employed capacity, evaluate confirmed mega-backdoor capacity, and identify any remaining amount for the Step 9 taxable-brokerage decision.

• The Roth preference does not override direct-contribution phaseouts, pro-rata exposure, or an unavailable Traditional IRA deduction.
• When the annual budget cannot capture every match, direct dollars toward the highest match returned per employee dollar while checking each plan's actual tiered formula.
• For married households, coordinate both spouses' plan quality, fees, investment menus, tax treatments, and payroll deadlines rather than defaulting every dollar to one spouse's plan.

A business owner can contribute in employee and employer roles

A Solo 401(k) can accept employee deferrals and an employer contribution, but the owner's employee deferral is still shared with other 401(k), 403(b), TSP, and applicable salary-reduction plans. A SEP IRA generally receives employer contributions rather than elective employee deferrals. A SIMPLE IRA uses its own lower plan limit while still interacting with the person's aggregate deferral rules.

• The 2026 SEP ceiling is $72,000, also subject to compensation and contribution-rate rules.
• The standard 2026 SIMPLE employee limit is $17,000; certain qualifying plans may use an enhanced $18,100 limit, with separate catch-up rules.
• Gross business receipts are not eligible compensation. Net earnings, entity structure, self-employment tax adjustments, plan terms, and employee obligations can change the allowable employer contribution.
• Use the IRS worksheet, plan provider, or tax professional to calculate employer capacity before entering it in the allocator.

A mega backdoor Roth requires two separate plan features

A Roth 401(k) contribution is a normal elective deferral and remains inside the personal employee limit. A mega backdoor Roth instead begins with voluntary after-tax employee contributions beyond that limit, then moves those dollars through an in-plan Roth conversion or an eligible in-service distribution to a Roth IRA. It is also separate from Step 7's backdoor Roth IRA strategy.

• High income does not create access. The plan must accept voluntary after-tax contributions and provide a usable Roth conversion path.
• Capacity is generally the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of eligible compensation, minus base employee deferrals, employer contributions, other annual additions, and after-tax contributions already made.
• Earnings before conversion may be taxable, and plan fees, conversion frequency, nondiscrimination testing, and operational limits can reduce the practical amount.
• For 2026, certain age-50 catch-up contributors with more than $150,000 of prior-year wages from the plan sponsor may need those catch-up dollars designated as Roth. Verify the plan's implementation and the wage definition.

Convert the annual plan into payroll and recurring transfers

Subtract amounts already contributed, divide the remaining allocation by the remaining payroll or transfer periods, and schedule each election. Front-loading can increase time invested, but a plan that matches each paycheck without a true-up can leave employer money unclaimed after contributions stop early.

• Confirm whether bonuses use the same election and match formula.
• Review contributions after compensation changes, job changes, and plan-provider updates.
• Stop or redirect transfers when a limit is reached rather than allowing excess contributions to create a correction problem.
• When useful tax-advantaged capacity is full, preserve the habit and direct true excess to the Step 9 taxable-brokerage decision.