How Much Can I Contribute To A Retirement Plan? 
There are many qualified retirement plans that allow substantial tax deductible contributions and some of allow additional catch up contributions for those 50 and older . You first need to determine which plans are available for your situation . As an example : in 2013 the contribution limit for a 401 -LRB- k -RRB- is $ 17,500 and for those ages 50 and older an additional $ 5,500 is allowed under the catch up provision . In contrast a SEP retirement plan allows contributions up to 25 % of compensation , or $ 51,000 for 2013 and generally tied to annual cost - of - living adjustment for later years . 