 This second catch-up option is equal to the full employee deferral limit or another $18,000 for 2017.Thus, a person over 50 within 3 years of retirement and who has both a 457 and a 401(k) could defer a total of $62,000 [18,000 + 18,000 for 457 and 18,000 + 8,000 for 401(k)] into his retirement plans by using all of his catch-up provisions.The second type of catch-up provision is limited to unused deferral limits from previous years.