A while back I logged into my retirement account and did the maths properly for the first time. Not the vague, optimistic version where you assume everything will work out — the actual numbers, what was in there, what I needed, and the gap between the two. It was not a comfortable afternoon. I am not going to tell you the exact figure because that is mine, but I will tell you it sent me down a research rabbit hole that I am still in. This post is what I found.
I am not a financial advisor and nothing in this post is personal financial advice. It is based on my own research. Contribution limits are sourced from IRS Notice 2025-67 — please verify current figures at irs.gov as these update annually. Consult a qualified financial professional before making retirement planning decisions. Full affiliate disclosure.
This is the kind of thing I write about every Thursday. No jargon, no generic advice — just what I actually found and what I am actually doing with my own money.
Join free →What I found when I actually started looking is that most of the information out there assumes you either started at 25 or you are already working with a financial advisor. There is not much written for someone in their 40s who is competent, educated, and completely overwhelmed by the gap between where they are and where they were supposed to be by now. That is who I was writing this for. Honestly, I was writing it for myself.
Where Women Actually Stand on Retirement Savings
The data on women and retirement is uncomfortable to look at. The median retirement savings for women born between 1959 and 1964 is around $185,000, compared to $269,000 for men of the same generation. That is a $84,000 gap between people the same age who have been working the same amount of time.
The reasons are well documented. The gender pay gap means lower contributions over a career. Career breaks for caregiving mean years of missed contributions and missed compound growth. Women also live longer on average, which means retirement funds need to stretch further. None of this is abstract. It shows up in the actual numbers.
Spread across a 20-year retirement, that gap is roughly $350 less every single month. For the rest of your life. That is the number that lands differently than the headline figure.
What I want to focus on is not what you should have done differently — you probably already know that. What I want to focus on is what is actually available to you right now, in 2026, as someone in your 40s or 50s who is motivated to make progress.
Catch-Up Contributions: What They Are and Why They Matter
Once you turn 50, the IRS allows you to contribute more to your retirement accounts than the standard annual limit. These are called catch-up contributions, and they exist precisely for people who are behind. They are genuinely one of the most powerful financial tools available to women in this stage of life, and a surprising number of people either do not know about them or are not using them.
Here is what the 2026 limits look like, and I want to be specific because these numbers matter.
401(k), 403(b), 457 plans — standard limit: $24,500
Catch-up contribution (age 50+): an additional $8,000, for a total of $32,500
IRA — standard limit: $7,500
IRA catch-up contribution (age 50+): an additional $1,100, for a total of $8,600
HSA (self-only coverage): $4,400, with an additional $1,000 catch-up available from age 55
Source: IRS Notice 2025-67. Verify current limits at irs.gov as these are updated annually.
That additional $8,000 in your 401(k) alone is significant. Over ten years, assuming a 7% average annual return, an extra $8,000 per year compounds to roughly $110,000. That is not nothing. That is the kind of number that materially changes what retirement looks like.
The question is whether you can free up that money to contribute. I know that is easier said than done. But if you are currently contributing less than the maximum and your income allows for more, this is worth looking at seriously.
The New Roth Catch-Up Rule Most People Have Not Heard About
If you earn over $150,000 and were planning to use catch-up contributions this year, there is a new rule in 2026 that changes how you have to make them. And here is the part that caught me off guard: if your employer plan does not offer the right account type, you could lose access to those contributions entirely. It is worth knowing about before you assume everything is the same as last year.
Starting in 2026, if you earned more than $150,000 in FICA wages in 2025, you are required to make your catch-up contributions as Roth contributions rather than traditional pre-tax contributions. This is a rule change under the SECURE 2.0 Act, and it has been in the works for a few years.
Check Box 3 on your 2025 W-2 form when it arrives in early 2026. If your FICA wages exceed $150,000, your catch-up contributions to your employer plan must be made as Roth (after-tax) contributions this year. If your wages were under $150,000, nothing changes for you.
What does this actually mean in practice? Roth contributions are made with after-tax money, which means you pay tax now rather than in retirement. The trade-off is that your withdrawals in retirement are completely tax-free. Depending on your current tax bracket versus what you expect in retirement, this could actually work in your favour.
There is one important catch: if your employer plan does not offer a Roth 401(k) option, you may not be able to make catch-up contributions at all under the new rule. If that is your situation, it is worth raising with your HR department or plan administrator now, and looking at alternative options like a Roth IRA (subject to income limits) or a backdoor Roth conversion.
Single filers can contribute to a Roth IRA if modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is under $153,000, with a phase-out up to $168,000. For married couples filing jointly, the range is $242,000 to $252,000. Above those limits, a backdoor Roth conversion may be an option worth discussing with a financial advisor. Verify current limits at irs.gov.
The Super Catch-Up Contribution Nobody Talks About
If you are between the ages of 60 and 63, there is an enhanced catch-up contribution available to you that most people in this window have no idea about. It is called the super catch-up, and it was introduced under SECURE 2.0.
That means if you are in this age window, your total 401(k) contribution for 2026 could be up to $35,750. Combined with a maxed-out IRA, you are looking at a significant amount of tax-advantaged savings in a single year. These are the years where it is genuinely possible to make meaningful ground on a retirement gap.
Not all employer plans have adopted the super catch-up yet. It is worth checking with your plan administrator to confirm whether your specific plan allows it.
Other Moves Worth Making If You Are Behind
Catch-up contributions are the headline tool, but they are not the only one. Here are a few others worth knowing about.
If you are on an HSA-eligible health plan, a Health Savings Account is one of the most tax-efficient vehicles available. Contributions are pre-tax, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. From age 65 you can withdraw for any purpose penalty-free, paying only income tax. Given that healthcare is one of the largest retirement expenses, this is genuinely worth prioritising. The 2026 HSA limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage, with an additional $1,000 catch-up available from age 55.
If you have changed jobs, there is a real chance you have retirement account balances sitting in old employer plans that you have not looked at in years. This is more common than people admit. Look at your CV and track them down. Rolling them into your current plan or into an IRA consolidates them so you can actually manage them.
If you cannot jump to the maximum contribution right now, there is a simple approach that works: increase your contribution rate by 1% every time you get a pay rise. You do not notice the smaller amount in your take-home pay because you are absorbing it against the increase, and over time it compounds meaningfully.
If you have the option to delay claiming Social Security, each year you wait between 62 and 70 increases your monthly benefit. The difference between claiming at 62 versus 70 can be substantial. This is worth modelling with a financial advisor who can run the numbers for your specific situation.
Where to Begin If This Feels Overwhelming
The most useful first step is to actually look at where you are. Log into your 401(k) account, find out what your current contribution rate is, and check whether you are making catch-up contributions. If you are over 50 and not contributing the additional $8,000, that is the first conversation to have with your HR department or plan administrator.
The second step is to track down any old accounts. Seriously. Look at your CV and match it against retirement accounts. There may be money sitting somewhere that could be working for you.
The third step, if you have not done it, is to talk to a fee-only financial advisor — someone who charges a flat fee to review your situation and give you a plan, rather than earning a commission on what they sell you. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) has a directory at napfa.org if you need a starting point. You may want to verify this is still current.
When I started putting money into the market, I used Robinhood. No account minimums, straightforward to use, and if you sign up with my link we both get a free stock. It is not the only option, but it is where I started and where I still have an active account. As always — do your own research and consider whether it is right for your situation.
The retirement gap for women is real. But the tools to close it are also real. And the women most likely to close it are the ones who start actually looking at the numbers rather than avoiding them. That is the part I can help with.