Take Advantage of ‘Catch Up’ Contributions
“If you are 50 or over, make sure you take advantage of the extra catch-up contributions that you can make to retirement savings accounts,” said Epperson. “You can put away another $6,000 in your 401k if you’re 50 or older, and save up to $24,500 in your employer-sponsored retirement plan in 2018. You can save an extra $1,000 in an IRA or maximum contribution of $6,500 this year if you’re 50 or over.”
“Contributions to a traditional 401k or IRA will lower your taxable income dollar-for-dollar, which is another great perk,” she said. “If you contribute to a Roth 401k or Roth IRA, you are building up savings that you generally won’t have to pay taxes on at all in retirement. That’s also great.”