The Internal Revenue Service released cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plan contributions today.

As expected, contribution caps will remain largely unchanged from last year.

In a press release, the IRS explained that Social Security’s cost-of-living index did not meet the statutory thresholds required to trigger adjustments to plan contribution caps.

As with last year, in 2016 the elective deferral contribution limit for participants in 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans, as well as the Thrift Savings Plan that is sponsored by the federal government, will be $18,000.

Catch-up contribution limits for participants in defined contribution plans age 50 and over will be $6,000.

Contribution caps on SIMPLE retirement accounts will stay at $12,500.

And the limit on annual contributions to IRAs will also remain unchanged, at $5,500, with a catch-up cap over another $1,000 for savers age 50 or older.

Total contribution limits, including employer matches, to defined contribution plans will also be unchanged, capped at $53,000.

The annual maximum benefit under defined benefit plans will also remain unchanged at $210,000.

Ever-so-slight changes did occur in adjusted gross income caps determining which savers qualify for retirement savers credits. Here is what the IRS highlighted:

For an IRA contributor who is not covered by a workplace retirement plan and is married to someone who is covered, the deduction is phased out if the couple’s income is between $184,000 and $194,000, up from $183,000 and $193,000.

The AGI phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $184,000 to $194,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $183,000 to $193,000. For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $117,000 to $132,000, up from $116,000 to $131,000.

The AGI limit for the saver’s credit (also known as the retirement savings contribution credit) for low- and moderate-income workers is $61,500 for married couples filing jointly, up from $61,000; $46,125 for heads of household, up from $45,750; and $30,750 for married individuals filing separately and for singles, up from $30,500.

Click here for access to the IRS’s release, which also documents information on Employee Stock Option Plans, and increases to the “systemically important” threshold for multiemployer plans.

Instant Insights /

IRS 2016 cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plan contributions

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