New Year, New Priorities: A 12‑Month Retirement Action Plan for CPA Firm Owners
It’s early January. You’ve wrapped up year-end work, deadlines are piling up again, and your firm’s numbers look strong. Then it hits you: you’ve spent another year fine‑tuning strategies for everyone else while your own retirement strategy is still on the “later” list.
You’re not the only one. Many CPA firm owners tell themselves, “I’ll get serious about my plan right after this busy stretch.” The issue is that “right after” keeps getting pushed—busy season, extensions, year‑end—until you’re staring at 55 or 60 and realizing you’ve helped clients retire on solid footing while your own plan is still catching up.
The turning of the calendar is a powerful moment to change that. Instead of another vague resolution to “save more,” you can map out a concrete 12‑month retirement action plan for yourself and your firm. And this year, you have new tools: higher contribution limits for 401(k)s, IRAs, and SIMPLEs, plus SECURE 2.0’s super catch‑up rules for ages 60–63 and the shift toward Roth-only catch-ups for high earners starting in 2026 (IRS retirement COLA guidance, IRS §1.414(v) regulations).
Think of this as your “internal client” project for the year: designing, funding, and tightening the retirement strategy for the owner of your most important business—your own life.
Start with the Big Picture: What Are You Actually Solving For?
Before we talk limits, catch-ups, and plan design, it helps to zoom out. Most CPA firm owners are solving three overlapping problems:
You want enough liquid savings in the decade around retirement to keep lifestyle stable without panicking about markets, tax surprises, or client attrition. You want to minimize lifetime taxes, not just this year’s bill—especially once Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and IRMAA surcharges for Medicare can creep in later (IRS catch-up contribution page, Kiplinger retirement milestones). And you’d like the option—not the obligation—to sell or slow down your firm on your terms, not because you’re burned out or financially squeezed.
Your retirement plan design for the firm, and how you personally use it, is one of the few levers that touches all three. The New Year is the right time to align those levers with the current rules rather than last year’s assumptions.
What Changed for 2025 (and What’s Coming in 2026)
From a CPA-owner perspective, there are a few headline changes you’ll want to build into this year’s plan.
First, contribution ceilings are higher again. For 2025, the employee deferral limit for 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans rose to $23,500, with the age‑50 catch‑up still at $7,500, giving most participants $31,000 of elective deferral room if they’re 50 or older (Forbes summary of the 2025 limits). SIMPLE IRA deferrals increased to $16,500, with a $3,500 catch‑up for those 50+, and a higher $5,250 catch‑up for ages 60–63 in 2025 under SECURE 2.0.
Second, the “super catch‑up” for ages 60–63 becomes a planning reality, not just a line in legislation. Beginning with tax years after 2024, participants who will be age 60–63 during the year can use a higher catch‑up limit in 401(k)/403(b)/457 plans and SIMPLEs. Treasury’s regulations set that super catch‑up at $11,250 for 401(k)-type plans for now and $5,250 for SIMPLEs, subject to future COLAs (IRS §1.414(v)-1 regulations, Kiplinger discussion of age 60–63 rules). For a CPA owner in that 60–63 band, this creates a narrow but powerful three-year window for very aggressive last‑minute savings.
Third, SECURE 2.0’s Roth‑only catch‑up rule for certain high earners is on deck. Starting in 2026, if your prior-year wages from the plan sponsor exceed $150,000 (indexed), your 401(k)/403(b) catch‑up contributions will generally need to be Roth, not pre-tax (Kiplinger Roth 401(k) changes). That means this year may be one of your last to use pre-tax catch‑ups freely if your income is above that level.
Finally, the IRS has continued to nudge up IRA limits and their catch‑ups. For 2025, traditional and Roth IRA contribution limits moved to $7,000 with a $1,000 catch-up for those 50+; for 2026, the IRS has already signaled an increase to $7,500 and a catch-up of $1,100 (IRS 2026 COLA news release). The point isn’t memorizing each dollar amount—it’s intentionally filling those buckets as part of a coordinated plan.
With that backdrop, the question becomes: how do you sequence decisions and actions across the year so these rules work for you, not against you?
Q1: Treat Yourself Like Your Own Best Client
The first quarter is when you’re most tempted to say, “I’ll fix it after April.” That’s exactly why it’s the right time to make a few foundational decisions—even if you can’t fully execute until summer.
If you don’t already have a qualified plan or your existing plan feels like a relic, Q1 is when you decide what your “default vehicle” will be for this year and beyond. For a solo or very small shop, that might be a Solo 401(k) or SEP; for a growing team, a safe harbor 401(k) or SIMPLE; for high earners in their 50s and 60s, a 401(k) paired with a cash balance plan.
You know the technical differences. The key in Q1 is more behavioral: you choose a structure that you’ll actually fund. That means looking at predictable versus variable cash flow, staff expectations, and your personal tax bracket. If you’re routinely in the 32% or 35% federal bracket and facing state income tax on top, locking in higher pre-tax space in a 401(k) or defined benefit plan this year may have more impact than squeezing another minor deduction out of a client’s S‑corp.
Q1 is also a good time to adjust your own payroll. If you’re W‑2 from an S‑corp, updating your deferral percentage and planning for a full‑year max—especially if you’re in that 50+ or 60–63 catch‑up zone—helps you avoid a December scramble. For a SIMPLE, this is when you confirm that your deferral election is in place and your staff understands the match formula. You don’t need a new plan document every year, but you do need clarity.
In parallel, use your own tax projection process. Estimate your 2025 income early and model what it would take to:
Reduce AGI enough to mitigate future IRMAA surcharges in your late 60s and 70s. Smooth Roth versus pre-tax usage now that Roth 401(k)s no longer require RMDs, aligning them more closely with Roth IRAs (Kiplinger Roth 401(k) changes). And right-size owner compensation so that profit sharing or defined benefit allocations make sense and are defensible.
If you regularly produce beautiful multi-page planning reports for clients, give yourself the same respect. One internal planning deck for you as the “client” can anchor the rest of the year.
Q2: Translate Strategy into Automatic Savings
Once tax season eases and the plan design decisions are mostly set, the second quarter is about automation.
If you decided that this is a year to lean into pre-tax savings—because your marginal rate is high and the Roth-only catch-up for high earners is coming in 2026—this is when you hardwire that via payroll. You adjust your deferral percentages so you’re on track to hit:
The full $23,500 employee deferral if you’re under 50. The $31,000 including catch‑up if you’re 50 or older but under 60. The higher combined deferral plus super catch‑up if you’re 60–63 and your plan is set up to allow it.
For SIMPLEs, you make sure that $16,500 base plus whatever catch‑up applies is realistic given your owner compensation and cash flow. Remember that, for many small CPA firms, a SIMPLE is still a perfectly fine choice—especially if you’re in growth mode with staff and want something lean on administration. But Q2 is when you can sanity-check whether it still fits or whether 2026 might be the right time to graduate to a 401(k).
This is also a good time to decide how you’ll use IRAs alongside your employer plan. If your income allows, you may want to layer traditional IRA contributions (deductible or via backdoor Roth mechanics) on top of your 401(k) savings. Given the 2025 and 2026 IRA limits, this can be a meaningful additional bucket, especially if you coordinate it with a three‑bucket approach—pre‑tax, Roth, and taxable—so that future withdrawals can be tailored around tax brackets and IRMAA thresholds rather than dictated by a single account type.
In Q2, you don’t need to perfect the asset allocation. You do want to be sure the right accounts are receiving the right dollars automatically, month after month, so you’re not depending on year‑end discipline when you’re tired.
Q3: Midyear Checkup and Owner‑Only Adjustments
By midyear, many CPA firms have a little breathing room. This is when you can ask, “Is the plan we sketched in January still realistic based on the year we’re actually having?”
If profits are higher than expected, Q3 is when you start penciling in more aggressive employer contributions: higher profit sharing in a 401(k) design, a larger SEP contribution if that’s your vehicle, or preliminary ranges for defined benefit/cash balance funding if you’re in that structure. Since defined benefit contributions are actuarially determined, you’ll be working with your TPA or actuary, but you can still decide at a high level whether you want to hug the minimum, the target, or the upper range within reason.
If you are in your late 50s or early 60s, this is also the time to be deliberate about the age‑based milestones that are either here or coming quickly. Many of your clients delay Social Security to 67 or 70 to increase benefits. That makes your own savings in the decade before those claiming ages especially important; the higher your pre‑retirement savings rate, the more flexibility you’ll have to delay benefits if markets or firm dynamics are rough.
Q3 is also when you can examine Roth versus pre-tax positioning with fresh eyes. SECURE 2.0’s removal of RMDs on Roth 401(k)s and the coming Roth‑only catch-up rule for higher earners tilt the playing field a bit. If you’re in a moderate bracket now but expect much higher income later from a firm sale, RMDs, and Social Security, you may choose to emphasize Roth contributions this year in your 401(k), even at the cost of some current tax savings. If, on the other hand, 2025 looks like a peak-income year before an intentional ramp‑down, aggressively maxing pre-tax contributions in Q3 and Q4 may be more appealing.
The through line is that midyear is your chance to course‑correct. If you only look up in December, you’re limited to very blunt instruments.
Q4: Turn Tax Season Foresight into Year‑End Funding
The final quarter is where many CPA owners have historically tried to play catch‑up—scrambling to shove money into a plan at the same time clients are trying to close books. With a 12‑month framework, Q4 becomes less about panic and more about refinement.
By this point, you should know roughly where your taxable income will land and how much contribution headroom you still have in your chosen plan. If you’ve already hit your employee deferral maximums through payroll, Q4 is mostly about employer contributions: profit sharing, match, and, if applicable, defined benefit or cash balance funding.
This is often where the biggest marginal tax savings reside. For example, if you’re in a combined federal and state marginal rate north of 40%, every additional dollar you route into a qualified plan can reduce this year’s tax bill materially. You witness these numbers for clients every day. Q4 is about finally applying that same calculus to yourself, rather than watching six figures of profit pass through fully taxed while your own retirement accounts remain underfunded.
Q4 is also when you revisit plan deadlines. Some plans must be adopted by the end of the plan year to be effective; others, like SEPs or certain defined benefit designs, can sometimes be established and funded by the tax filing deadline for that year. You already know the technical rules; the key is using them proactively instead of as a last‑ditch bandage. If you’re contemplating a plan upgrade—say, moving from SIMPLE to 401(k) for 2026—Q4 is the time to confirm that transition so you’re not scrambling next January.
Finally, remember that many of the planning levers you use with clients—managing AGI to avoid higher IRMAA brackets, smoothing Roth conversions in lower-income years, coordinating Social Security claiming with portfolio withdrawals—are far easier to execute when you enter year‑end with a strong qualified plan foundation. The 12‑month action plan is about creating that foundation.
Layering in the Super Catch‑Up Window
If you’re between 60 and 63 at any point during the year, the new super catch‑up provisions deserve special attention. You effectively have a brief “final sprint” window where your allowable deferrals jump above the usual age‑50 catch‑up amount. In a 401(k) or similar plan, that can mean thousands of additional pre-tax or Roth dollars in just three or four years, on top of whatever employer contributions you make as the owner.
The planning nuance is that, starting in 2026, if your prior-year wages are above $150,000, those catch-up contributions have to be Roth. That means post‑tax now, tax‑free later. For some CPA owners, that’s attractive: you may already have significant pre-tax balances and want more future tax diversity. For others in sky‑high brackets, losing the current-year deduction may hurt.
This is where a multi‑year view helps. You might decide that 2025 is a year to lean hard into pre-tax catch‑ups while they are still allowed for you, even if 2026 and beyond will be Roth‑heavy. Or, if you anticipate selling your firm in a few years and having a temporary lower-income window afterward, you might accept Roth catch‑ups now and plan to use that future low‑income period for Roth conversions at favorable rates.
The underlying message: if you’re in that 60–63 range, these are not ordinary years. The super catch‑up rules create a small window where very intentional saving can move the needle significantly.
Don’t Forget the Non‑Plan Pieces
While qualified plans are the star of this conversation, your 12‑month retirement action plan should also account for the pieces your clients often overlook—and CPA owners do, too.
One is liquidity. It’s easy to fall into the trap of shoving every spare dollar into pre-tax space for the deduction. The risk is waking up in your early 60s with a large 401(k) and SEP balance but limited taxable savings for flexibility if you want to buy out a partner, support adult children, bridge to Medicare, or cut back your hours before your full plan retirement date. Building a taxable “freedom fund” alongside your plan contributions—especially in Q2 and Q3 when cash flow may be smoother—can make your firm transition options much more realistic.
Another is risk management. If you’ve read about asset-based long-term care, the three-bucket approach, and the major risks in retirement—longevity, healthcare, sequence of returns, inflation, and policy risk—you know that plan design is only one defense. Throughout the year, look at how your retirement plan interacts with those risks. Would a large required pension contribution strain your firm in a down year? Are you over‑relying on the eventual sale value of your practice instead of building liquid savings? Have you mapped how RMDs, Social Security, and portfolio withdrawals could interact with Medicare premiums and tax brackets in your 70s?
You routinely do this kind of integrated thinking for clients. Bringing that same discipline to your own situation is less about more knowledge and more about finally allocating the time.
Make This the Year You Stop Going Last
Most CPAs are wired to put everyone else first—clients, staff, family. That generosity is a strength, but it becomes a liability when it turns into chronic self‑neglect around your own retirement.
A 12‑month retirement action plan doesn’t require radical changes or heroic willpower. It’s a series of deliberate moves, sequenced through the year:
You choose or confirm the right plan early. You automate contributions as much as possible. You check in midyear and adjust to reality. You use Q4 and your tax insight to top off the right buckets. And, if you’re in that 50+ or 60–63 band, you lean into the expanded contribution limits and catch‑ups that exist now rather than assuming they’ll always be there.
The result is not a guarantee, but a higher likelihood that when you sit across from clients discussing their retirements, you know that your own is on track as well.
If you’d like help turning this year’s rules, limits, and deadlines into a concrete 12‑month action plan for your own practice, we’re here for that conversation. Click the button below to schedule a time to chat.
Appendix: Sources
IRS: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500
IRS: Retirement Topics – Catch-up Contributions
IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025‑40 – §1.414(v) Catch‑up contributions
Forbes: IRS Announces Retirement Contribution Limits Will Increase in 2025
