Managing multiple retirement plans: Avoid exceeding IRS limits for 2024

Did you contribute to more than one employer retirement savings plan in 2024? If so, you might have gone over the IRS annual limits on retirement contributions.

When the IRS provides annual limits on retirement contributions, it includes all contributions made, even to retirement savings plans outside of the Stanford Contributory Retirement Plan.

Stanford’s Retirement Savings team can help you review your total contributions from 2024 to see if this applies to you. If it does, there is action you will need to take by the tax deadline of April 15.

Request a review from Stanford’s Retirement Savings Team

In order to give you the information you need before the tax deadline, follow the overcontribution reimbursement process by April 10, 2025: 

• Submit your W-2 forms from all of your 2024 employers, along with a completed ROE form requesting the reimbursement of overcontributed amounts to scrpdistributions@stanford.edu. This step is necessary for the Stanford Retirement Savings team to verify if you have exceeded your contribution limit. 

Please note: Contributions cannot be refunded under any other conditions.

• The Stanford Retirement Savings team verifies that the requested reimbursement amount aligns with the overcontributed amount. Once confirmed, Stanford Retirement Savings will proceed to submit the sponsor-approved ROE form to Fidelity for processing. Fidelity will issue a check for the overcontributed amount, and a 1099-R will be sent the following January.

Please note: Stanford’s W-2 will not be amended. 

If you contributed to multiple employer retirement savings plans in 2024, you are required to confirm if you have contributed over the annual IRS limits. If so, a Return of Excess (ROE) contributions must be made by the tax deadline of Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Requests for ROE will not be processed after this deadline. If you do not return excess contributions on time, those excess contributions will be taxed. For more information, please refer to the IRS website regarding excess contributions.

Questions?

If you have any questions, email Stanford’s Retirement Savings team at scrpdistributions@stanford.edu.