Which Age Group Leads in Maxing Out Its 401(k) Contributions—How Do You Stack Up?

If you’re approaching retirement but aren’t on track to have enough money saved, now might be a good time to try upping your 401(k) contributions.

Of all age groups, those aged 55 to 64 were the most likely to have maxed out their 401(k)s, according to Vanguard data on about a million retirement plan participants.

Nearly one in five (19%) were maxing out their 401(k)s, according to Vanguard’s “How America Saves” 2025 report. The group least likely to max out their 401(k) plan was workers younger than 25, with only 3% of this cohort contributing up to the limit.

It’s not much of a surprise that this cohort of older workers is more likely to max out their retirement accounts than younger ones, who still have decades to save and typically have lower incomes.

“Coupled with rising costs, inadequate savings and the looming depletion of the Social Security trust fund, these factors underscore a retirement crisis in the U.S., requiring many households to boost their savings to achieve stable and sufficient income in retirement,” wrote Torsten Slok, Chief Economist at Apollo, about these workers.

Older workers, in particular, are vulnerable to having inadequate savings for retirement.

According to other research from Vanguard, older generations have lower levels of retirement readiness compared to younger ones. Retirement readiness is measured by one’s ability to support a similar lifestyle in retirement.

And this isn’t due to an inability to save. Changes to the retirement system in the U.S.—such as increased access to defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s, and modifications to retirement plan features—have positioned younger workers to be better prepared for retirement than their older counterparts.

However, not all hope is lost for older workers. Contributing more to tax-advantaged retirement accounts, delaying Social Security, tapping into home equity, working a few extra years, and spending less in retirement could help them enter retirement more financially prepared.

Workers can contribute $24,500 to their 401(k)s in 2026. Those ages 50 and older can contribute an additional $8,000 in catch-up contributions, up from $7,500 in 2025. Those ages 60 to 63 can contribute even more—up to $11,250 in catch-up contributions—for a total of $35,750.