Turning 60 creates one of the biggest retirement savings opportunities available under current law. Thanks to SECURE 2.0’s super catch-up provision, workers ages 60 to 63 can now contribute $35,750 into a 401(k) in 2026, combining the $24,500 standard deferral with an $11,250 catch-up. That four-year window gives late-stage savers a rare chance to accelerate retirement savings, making fund selection more important than ever. Three low-cost growth ETFs are built for exactly this job: Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (NASDAQ:QQQM), Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:VUG), and Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHG).
Why Growth Still Belongs in a 60-Year-Old’s 401(k)
Many investors instinctively shift toward bonds and cash after turning 60. But if you retire at 67 and plan through your early 90s, you still have a 25-plus year runway for that money. The average 60-64-year-old’s 401(k) balance sits around $246,500, and Schwab’s participant survey pegs the retirement “magic number” at $1.6 million. Closing that gap during the four-year super catch-up window requires a portfolio with enough growth potential to keep compounding. These three ETFs are built to do exactly that.
QQQM: The Cheap Way to Own the Nasdaq-100
QQQM is Invesco’s buy-and-hold version of the more famous QQQ, tracking the same Nasdaq-100 index. Your dollar buys the same 100 companies, just wrapped in a cheaper structure that favors long-term holders over traders. The fund is heavy on semiconductors and megacap tech: NVIDIA at 8.13%, Apple at 7.26%, and Microsoft at 5.298% anchor a portfolio of 105 positions that also includes Amazon, Broadcom, AMD, Alphabet, Tesla, and Meta.
The performance case is straightforward. QQQM has returned 27.06% over the past year and 97.05% over five years, closing August 3 at $272.51. Inside a 401(k), those returns compound tax-deferred, so nothing bleeds off to the IRS along the way. If you want concentrated exposure to the companies driving the AI and cloud buildout, this is the vehicle.
VUG: The Broadest Large-Cap Growth Bet at a Rock-Bottom Cost
VUG tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index and casts a wider net than QQQM, holding roughly 180 large-cap growth names across the full US market rather than just the Nasdaq. Its expense ratio is essentially a rounding error, one of the cheapest funds in existence, which is important when you’re contributing $35,750 a year. Every basis point saved on fees is a basis point compounding for you.
Top holdings include NVIDIA at 13.3%, Apple at 12.3%, Alphabet at 9.9%, and Microsoft at 9.1%. Trailing returns are 17.91% over one year, 80.66% over five years, and a striking 402.37% over the last decade. Shares closed at $85.27 as of August 3. For a core growth holding you can set on autopilot and revisit in a decade, VUG is hard to beat.
SCHG: Schwab’s Under-the-Radar Alternative
SCHG tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index and manages $61.08 billion in net assets. It sits in the same neighborhood as VUG philosophically but with a different index construction and slightly different weightings: NVIDIA at 11.01%, Apple at 9.83%, Microsoft at 7.17%, and Amazon at 5.67%.
The performance profile has been the strongest of the three: 18.5% over one year, 88.15% over five years, and 438.42% over ten years. Shares closed at $34.86, up 2.02% as of August 3. The lower share price makes it easier to buy in smaller increments inside a payroll-driven 401(k), which matters when you’re spreading $35,750 across 26 pay periods.
The Trade-Off You’re Accepting
These three funds overlap heavily. NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet dominate all three funds, so owning all three amounts to the same growth trade spread across three tickers rather than genuine diversification. In this case, concentration remains a risk. VUG’s top five positions represent roughly 57% of the fund, and SCHG’s top ten hold about 54%. When megacap tech sells off, all three will fall together, and at 60 your recovery window is shorter than it was at 40. Pair them with a bond allocation or a total-market fund inside your 401(k) so a single bad year for the Magnificent Seven doesn’t postpone your retirement date. Pick one as your growth engine, feed it the super catch-up, and let tax-deferred compounding do the rest.
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