diff --git a/scripts/top-complexity b/scripts/top-complexity
index 7ee0c825ec..26fa20ee87 100755
--- a/scripts/top-complexity
+++ b/scripts/top-complexity
@@ -78,8 +78,9 @@ my %whitelist = (
 
     );
 
-# functions with complexity above this level causes the function to return error
-my $cutoff = 70;
+# complexity above this level is treated as an error and contributes to the
+# script's exit code
+my $cutoff = 60;
 
 # show this many from the top
 my $top = $ARGV[0] ? $ARGV[0] : 25;