Insights

As we head into fall, this is an important time to review and optimize your Microsoft benefits. Contribution elections for your 401(k), ESPP, and Mega Backdoor Roth can still be adjusted before December, and open enrollment is not far off.

We have just updated our Financial Guide for Microsoft Professionals, which walks through the key benefits and planning decisions that do the most work in a Microsoft financial plan. This version also adds a section for anyone affected by the Voluntary Retirement Program or the recent layoff rounds, covering what those packages have included, from severance timing to continued stock vesting to healthcare.

A few of the 2026 numbers worth knowing:

• Up to $24,500 in regular 401(k) contributions, plus an $8,000 catch-up at age 50 or older, or $11,250 between ages 60 and 63. Microsoft matches 50% up to the standard limit, which is up to $12,250.
• Total contributions from all sources of up to $72,000, not counting catch-up, which can leave as much as $35,250 of Mega Backdoor Roth room.
• HSA limits of $4,400 for individual coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, including whatever Microsoft contributes on your behalf, plus a $1,000 catch-up if you are 55 or older.
• A Dependent Care FSA limit of $7,500, its first increase from the $5,000 cap that had been in place since 1986.

There is also one new rule that may catch higher earners off guard. If you are 50 or older and your prior-year Microsoft FICA wages were more than $150,000, your catch-up contributions now have to be Roth, so those dollars no longer reduce your taxable income today. It does not make the catch-up less valuable, but it can change your withholding and your Roth versus pre-tax strategy.

Additional Resources

You may also want to watch our recent Webinar, Laid Off From Microsoft? Here’s Your 90 Day Gameplan:

team@stablerwm.com | (425) 646-6327

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Stabler Wealth Management and LPL Financial are not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.

This material is for educational purposes only and is not intended as tax, legal, or investment advice.

Securities and Advisory services are offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC. Stabler Wealth Management is not registered as a broker-dealer or investment advisor.