Can I Contribute to Two 403b Accounts?
Navigating multiple 403(b) accounts means understanding how your total annual retirement savings are calculated across all your workplace plans.
It is permissible to contribute to two or more 403(b) accounts simultaneously. A 403(b) plan is a retirement savings plan available to employees of public schools, certain tax-exempt organizations, and specific ministers. This means individuals who work for multiple qualifying employers, or change jobs between them, can hold more than one account.
Scenarios Leading to Multiple 403(b) Accounts
Individuals often acquire multiple 403(b) accounts through their career. One common way is by changing employers; when you leave a job with a qualifying organization, your 403(b) account remains your asset. Upon starting a new position at another eligible employer, such as a different school district or non-profit, you can enroll in their plan, resulting in two separate accounts.
Another scenario involves working for two or more qualifying employers simultaneously. For instance, a university professor might also work part-time for a non-profit hospital and contribute to a 403(b) plan at each workplace.
Understanding Contribution Limits Across Accounts
The primary rule for managing multiple 403(b) accounts is that contribution limits apply to you as an individual, not to each separate account. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets these limits annually. For 2025, the elective deferral limit on your own contributions is $23,500, which is the maximum total you can contribute across all your 403(b) plans.
Individuals aged 50 and over are eligible for an additional catch-up contribution of $7,500 for 2025. A new provision also allows those aged 60 to 63 to make a higher catch-up contribution of $11,250, if their plan adopts this feature. These catch-up allowances are also aggregate totals that apply across all your accounts.
A unique feature of 403(b) plans is the 15-year service catch-up contribution. This may allow employees with at least 15 years of service with their current employer who have contributed less than $5,000 per year on average to add an extra $3,000 per year, with a lifetime maximum of $15,000. Eligibility is complex and not all employers offer it.
An overall limit, the annual additions limit, caps the total of all contributions made to your account with a single employer at $70,000 for 2025. This figure includes your elective deferrals and any employer contributions. This cap is applied on a per-employer basis.
Coordinating Contributions and Correcting Excesses
You are responsible for tracking your total contributions when contributing to two 403(b) accounts. Your employers’ payroll systems do not communicate, making it possible to exceed the annual limit. Review your pay stubs from each job to monitor the year-to-date amounts and adjust your contribution percentage as needed to stay under the limit.
If you contribute more than the allowed amount, you must correct the error. Request a “corrective distribution” of the excess contributions and any earnings from one of your plan administrators. This withdrawal must be completed before the tax filing deadline, typically April 15 of the following year, to avoid the amount being taxed twice.
Combining 403(b) Accounts with Other Retirement Plans
The contribution limits for 403(b) plans also interact with other types of retirement accounts. If you contribute to both a 403(b) and a 401(k) plan in the same year, the elective deferral limit is shared between them. Your combined contributions to both types of plans cannot exceed the $23,500 limit for 2025, plus any applicable age-based catch-up contributions.
A notable exception exists with governmental 457(b) plans, which are often available to employees of state and local governments. Contributions to a 403(b) plan and a governmental 457(b) plan are subject to separate deferral limits. This means an eligible individual could contribute up to $23,500 to their 403(b) and another $23,500 to their 457(b) in 2025.
Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), whether Traditional or Roth, are entirely separate from your workplace retirement plans. The IRA contribution limit for 2025 is $7,000 ($8,000 if age 50 or older) and is not affected by how much you contribute to your 403(b).