Grow your retirement savings with CU's voluntary plans.
Want to put more money aside for your retirement? CU’s three voluntary retirement savings plans are a great way to supplement your basic retirement plan. You can enroll or adjust your contributions at any time, fees are low and each plan gives you the flexibility to choose your own investments or have specialists do it for you.
Note: You can enroll in any of the voluntary plans, whether you qualify for a mandatory retirement plan or not. You make all plan contributions and assume investment risks and rewards.
Changes for 2026
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, catch-up contributions may be required as after-tax (ROTH) contributions, as required by the SECURE 2.0 Act. Employees 50 or older making more than $150,000 a year must designate catch-up contributions as ROTH contributions. This means taxes will be taken out of the catch-up amount before it is contributed to the plan.
2026 contribution limits and annual catch-up contributions
Contribution Limits
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets annual limits on how much you can contribute to retirement plans. The annual contribution limit for 2026 is $24,500.
Catch-up Contributions
In addition to standard contribution limits, the IRS allows extra contributions, called catch-up contributions, for certain employees age 50 or older.
- Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, catch-up contributions for employees age 50 and older may be required as Roth after-tax contributions.
- If you earned more than $150,000 in wages from CU in the prior year and are not a PERA participant, your catch-up contributions must be made on an after-tax Roth basis, even if you previously elected pre-tax contributions.
- The University of Colorado Voluntary Plans (403(b), 401(k) and 457) all have pre-tax and Roth after-tax options.
457 Plan Special Catch-up Contribution
Some plans provide additional contribution options beyond the standard catch-up.
- The University of Colorado 403(b) or PERA 401(k): No Special Catch-up contributions are allowed.
- PERA 457: If you have under-contributed to the PERA 457, you may be able to contribute up to twice the normal limit ($49,000) for three consecutive years before normal retirement age. PERA will determine your eligibility for the Special Catch-up contributions.
Aggregate Limits
Some plans share limits, while others are counted separately:
- 403(b) and 401(k) are combined and share one annual IRS limit.
- 457 contributions are tracked separately. The 457 does not aggregate, or share limits, with the 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b).
- If you participate in the CU 401(a) Mandatory Retirement Plan, your combined contributions to CU 401(a) and PERA 401(k) cannot exceed $72,000 annually (excluding on age 50+ catch-up contributions).
Use the tables below to see your contribution and catch-up options by wage level and age group:
- If your prior year FICA wages were $150,000 or less, see Table 1.
- If your prior year FICA wages were over $150,000, see Table 2.
Table 1: Prior Year FICA Wages $150,000 or less
| Age Group | Annual Contribution Limit (2026) | Catch-Up Contribution Rate (2026) | 403(b) and 401(k) Individual or Combined (Aggregate) Limit | 457 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under Age 50 | $24,500 | Not eligible for catch-up contributions | $24,500 | $24,500 |
| Age 50-59 & 64 or older | $24,500 + $8,000 catch-up = $32,500 | $8,000 can be designated as pre-tax or Roth after-tax | $32,500 | $8,000 |
| Age 60-63 | $24,500 + $11,250 catch-up = $35,750 | $11,250 can be designated as pre-tax or Roth after-tax | $35,750 | $11,250 |
Table 2: Prior Year FICA Wages Greater Than $150,000 (Catch-up contributions must be Roth after-tax)
| Age Group | Annual Contribution Limit (2026) | Catch-Up Contribution Rate (2026) | 403(b) and 401(k) Individual or Combined (Aggregate) Limit | 457 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under Age 50 | $24,500 | Not eligible for catch-up contributions | $24,500 | $24,500 |
| Age 50-59 & 64 or older | $24,500 + $8,000 catch-up = $32,500 | $8,000 can only be designated as Roth after-tax | $32,500 | $8,000 |
| Age 60-63 | $24,500 + $11,250 catch-up = $35,750 | $11,250 can only be designated as Roth after-tax | $35,750 | $11,250 |
2025 contribution limits
| CU Voluntary Retirement Plans | ||||
| CU 403(b) | PERA 401(k) pre-tax and ROTH (post-tax) |
PERA 457 pre-tax and ROTH (post-tax) |
||
| (pre-tax dollars) | Roth Option (post-tax dollars) | |||
| Contribution limit | $23,500 (See aggregate limits below) |
$23,500 (See aggregate limits below) |
$23,500 | |
| Additional catch-up contributions for ages 50-59 or 64+ |
$7,500 (See aggregate limits below) |
$7,500 (See aggregate limits below) |
$7,500 | |
| Additional catch-up contributions for ages 60-63 |
$11,250 (See aggregate limits below) |
$11,250 (See aggregate limits below) |
$11,250 | |
| Bonus catch up | N/A | N/A | N/A | If you’ve under contributed, you may be able to contribute up to twice the normal limit ($47,000) for three consecutive years before normal retirement age. |
| Aggregate limits |
CU voluntary retirement plans combined contribution limit between the 403(b) and 401(k): $23,500 Any combination of contributions made to the 403(b) pretax option, 403(b) Roth option or 401(k) cannot exceed these limits. |
The PERA 457 has no aggregation limits with the 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans. | ||
| Notes | If you’re enrolled in the CU 401(a) Mandatory Retirement Plan, you can’t contribute more than $69,000 a year to the CU 401(a) and the PERA 401(k). This excludes the $11,250 catch up contribution. |
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Choose a voluntary plan to learn more
Compare plans
| University of Colorado | PERA | |||
| 403(b) |
403(b) ROTH (after tax) |
401(k) pre-tax and ROTH (post-tax) |
457 pre-tax and ROTH (post-tax) |
|
| Qualifying distributions | Attain age 59 ½ Retirement Severance of employment Disability Financial hardship |
5-taxable-year period has passed Attain age 59 ½ Retirement Severance of employment Disability Financial hardship |
Attain age 59 ½ Retirement Severance of employment Disability Financial hardship |
Attain age 59 ½ while employed Required minimum distribution (RMD): attain age 72 while employed (age 70 ½ if born before July 1, 1949) Retirement Severance of employment Financial hardship |
| Early withdrawal penalties | Before age 59 ½ | Before age 59 ½ | Before age 59 ½ | N/A |
| Plan loan provisions | Limited* | Limited* | Limited** | Limited** |
| Special catch-up contributions (as defined by the plan) | None | None | None | Limited*** |
*See plan document or contact a TIAA representative for further plan details.
www.tiaa.org/cu
**See plan information or contact PERA for further plan details.
PERA 401(k) plan information
PERA 457 plan information
www.copera.org
***PERA 457 additional catch-up information: For three consecutive years before Normal Retirement Age and if the participant has under contributed in prior years, the participant may be able to contribute up to twice the available contribution limit ($38,000) per PERA’s approval.