--- title: The IRS Just Made it Easier to Save for Retirement. Here's How to Take Advantage description: The additional contributions add up to big bucks over time. authors: - name: Sergei Klebnikov url: https://money.com/author/sergei-klebnikov/ at_money_since: 2017 articles: 74 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Personal Finance - Shopping - Taxes - Technology former_staff: true published: '2018-11-02T19:30:03.000Z' modified: '2018-11-02T19:30:03.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - IRS - looking forward - Taxes - lookingforward word_count: 296 canonical: https://money.com/the-irs-just-made-it-easier-to-save-for-retirement-heres-how-to-take-advantage/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![US-ECONOMY-IRS](https://img.money.com/2018/11/181102-irs-retirement-rules.jpg) *A man walks into the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, DC on March 10, 2016.* Savers can put more money into their retirement accounts in 2019. The IRS [announced](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-contribution-limit-increases-to-19000-for-2019-ira-limit-increases-to-6000) on Thursday that under annual inflation adjustments, the agency would increase the limits on 401(k) and IRA contributions for next year. The cap on annual contributions to a traditional and Roth IRA, which hadn't changed since 2013, will rise to $6,000 from $5,500. The catch-up contribution to these accounts for those ages 50 and over remains unchanged at $1,000, according to the IRS. Employees who participate in a 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan will be able to set aside up to $19,000 before taxes next year, up from $18,500. The option to put an extra $500 each into an IRA and a 401(k) might not seem like all that much. But it could save investors big-time in the long run. For someone who starts contributing at age 30 and retires at age 67, the extra $1,000 a year adds up to an additional $134,000 in retirement savings at a 6% return, according to Arielle O'Shea, an investing and retirement specialist at NerdWallet. For people who can't come up with the extra $1,000 to max out both accounts, it's important to compare options when deciding between contributing to a 401(k) or an IRA. A good rule of thumb is that if your employer offers a 401(k) with a company match, try to contribute at least enough to get the maximum matching dollars possible. Consider putting the rest into a Roth IRA in order to work towards more tax-free savings for retirement. Regardless of what the IRS contributions on retirement accounts are, investors should aim to increase the amount they deposit each year, O'Shea says. [A retirement calculator](https://www.nerdwallet.com/investing/retirement-calculator) can help you figure out if you're on track. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/the-irs-just-made-it-easier-to-save-for-retirement-heres-how-to-take-advantage/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Planning", "item": "https://money.com/retirement-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The IRS Just Made it Easier to Save for Retirement. 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