It’s time for that last sprint to make retirement account contributions for 2025.
Yes, you can still put money away for last year. The deadline is tax day, April 15.
According to Fidelity Investments, contributions to individual retirement accounts (IRAs) — both traditional and Roth — are up 30% since January compared to the same time last year.
“We’re seeing a clear increase in IRA participation,” Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement products at Fidelity Investments, told Yahoo Finance. “What’s notable is how much of this growth is being driven by younger investors, including Gen Z, who are engaging with retirement savings earlier and more intentionally.”
So far this year, Gen Z savers have accounted for 34% of total contributions to Fidelity IRAs, compared with 4% from boomer contributors, 13% from Gen X, and 20% from millennials.
For 2025, you can contribute up to $7,000 to an IRA. If you’re age 50 or older and qualify, you can contribute an additional $7,500 to an employer-sponsored plan and $1,000 to an IRA. This limit applies across all traditional and Roth IRAs combined.
“Tax season is consistently a peak moment for retirement engagement,” Assaf said, “but this is a striking increase.”
This is also a smart time to consider making your retirement contributions for your 2026 return. The financial advisers I spoke to suggest contributing early in the year or setting up automatic monthly contributions. And don’t just park the funds in a money market account. Invest.
Research from Vanguard has shown that a significant percentage of IRA contributions sit in cash or money market funds long after the deduction is taken.
“Some investors seem to be focused on the act of making their contribution but forget to invest it — like it’s a check-the-box exercise,” according to Vanguard researchers. “By separating the contribution and investment decisions, they can end up leaving money sitting in cash for months before they invest it, so they miss out on the potential returns that could have been earned.”
The through-line advice from the pros: Consider investing in a diversified index fund or a target-date retirement fund.
Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including “Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future,” “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work,” and “Never Too Old to Get Rich.” Follow her on Bluesky and X.