Upgrade Past macOS 10.15 Catalina to Keep Getting Microsoft Office Updates
If you use Microsoft Office with macOS 10.15 Catalina, you should start planning for an upgrade. Microsoft has announced that current versions of its productivity suite—Office for Mac 2019, Office for Mac 2021, and Microsoft 365—will receive updates only if your Mac is running macOS 11 Big Sur, macOS 12 Monterey, or macOS 13 Ventura. If you keep using Catalina, your Office apps will continue to work, but they won’t receive enhancements, bug fixes, or security updates past October’s 16.66 updates. Contact me if you have questions about appropriate upgrade paths.
Even if you aren't running Microsoft Office, macOS 10.15 Catalina received its last security update a few months ago, so you really should upgrade anyway. So Microsoft is just following Apple's lead on this one.
If your Mac is currently running macOS Catalina, there is little reason not to upgrade to the most recent OS your Mac can handle. With only a few exceptions, apps that run on macOS Catalina is compatible with all OSes that have come out since. For a list of what system version your computer can run and when it is expected to receive its final security update from Apple, you can refer to my table.
If you are running macOS 14 Mojave or earlier, upgrading (which you really should do because Mojave hasn't had a security patch in over a year) does mean losing support for any older 32-bit apps, so you may have to consider replacing or upgrading some old apps before you jump.
(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/jewhyte)