Catch-Up by Age
Fifty is the year the tax code starts helping late starters on purpose.
From 50: IRA room is $8,600 a year and a 401(k) takes $32,500 (2026 figures, catch-ups included). These are not loopholes — Congress built them for exactly your start date.
What a monthly amount must be to reach a goal by age 67, starting now — at two assumed yearly returns. You pick the assumption; markets have landed inside this band and outside it. Projections are arithmetic, not promises.
| Goal by 67 | Monthly at an assumed 5% | Monthly at an assumed 7% |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $780 | $641 |
| $500,000 | $1,560 | $1,282 |
| $1,000,000 | $3,120 | $2,563 |
Shown for a start at age 50 (204 monthly contributions to 67). 2026 contribution limits checked October 23, 2026.
The same $400/mo invested from age 50 reaches about $156,050 by 67 at an assumed 7% return. Started at 25, it reaches about $1,217,483. The gap is real — it is compounding, and no product erases it. What closes it is the only lever you hold: a larger monthly amount, run through the right order, starting this month instead of next year.
The Filled Plan pack, the first-account walkthrough pack, the first-30-days plan, the full catch-up tables, the decoder card deck, and the order workbook — one pack, one-time payment.