As I sat down with my wife to talk about our financial goals for 2009, I realized that I needed to know if the contribution limits for our retirement and education savings accounts were going up in 2009. After some searching, of both the Internet in general and the IRS website in particular, here’s what I found. (By the way, if anyone from the IRS is reading this, it would be VERY helpful if you could create a single, easy-to-find page where all of these limits, and the limits for other types of accounts, could be listed. Also, if such a page already exists, hook me up with a link, please.)
2009 Contribution Limits for 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) Accounts:
$16,500 – Elective Deferrals (employee contributions)
$5,500 – Catch-Up Contributions (over 50 years of age)
$49,000 – Total Contributions Limit (employee + employer)
For more information and details, please see the following resources –
401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) Contribution Limits For 2009
2009 Contribution Limits for Roth IRAs and Traditional IRAs:
$5000 – under 50 years of age
$6000 – over 50 years of age
Roth and Traditional contribution limits were unchanged from their 2008 limits.
2009 Contribution Limit for ESAs (Education Savings Accounts):
$2000
ESA contribution limit was unchanged from 2008 limit.
I’ll keep these limits in mind as I think about my 2009 goals. As it looks now, more than 50% of our gross income will be allocated for retirement and education savings. I’ll let you know, in just a bit, what we decide to do.