Can I Retire Next Year?

Summary

Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)

Episode: Can I Retire Next Year?
Date: October 26, 2025
Hosts: Suze Orman, KT

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Episode Overview

In this “Ask KT & Suze Anything” Vacation Edition episode, financial powerhouse Suze Orman and her partner KT broadcast from Italy, answering listener questions about trusts during divorce, stock market diversification, retirement planning, essential documents for young adults, and strategies around children’s financial gifts. Suze emphasizes personal security, details pitfalls and protections around family assets, and reinforces her rules for financial freedom. The tone is candid, practical, encouraging, and occasionally tough-love.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Emergency Savings and Security

[00:00–01:12]

• Suze reiterates that the ultimate purpose of money is to bring you security, starting with an emergency fund.
• She encourages listeners to consider the Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account at Alliant Credit Union.

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2. Trusts and Divorce: What to Do When a Marriage Dissolves

[03:25–06:23]

• Listener Q (Bernadette): If a marriage is dissolving and a joint trust exists, what steps should one take for a separate trust? Must the divorce be finalized first?
• Suze’s Advice:
  • Create and fund a separate trust before your divorce is finalized.
  • Do not use marital assets inappropriately when funding.
  • After divorce, dissolving the joint trust is the logical next step.
  • Personal story: Suze and KT have separate trusts for protection (“The island is all in KT’s name. An incredibly valuable asset...I want to make sure she's OK no matter what.” — Suze [06:10])
• Memorable Quote:
  • “You absolutely can create a separate trust, and you should create a separate trust prior to your divorce...do it now.”—Suze [03:58]
• Emotional Note:
  • KT’s reaction underscores the unpredictable "what ifs" of life, and the importance of protection even in secure relationships.

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3. Investment Diversification and Concentration in the S&P 500

[06:57–09:14]

• Listener Q (Rachel): Concerns about VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) becoming top-heavy (38% in top 10 stocks).
• Suze’s Take:
  • Suze openly embraces this concentration, believing that “diversification, not in the right sector, will leave a lot of money on the table in these kinds of markets.” [08:44]
  • Admits she often recommends putting 50% in VOO and the rest in individual AI-related stocks (Nvidia, AMD, Palantir, IonQ, iBit).
  • She deliberately switched from VTI (Total Stock Market Index) to VOO for its higher concentration in top-performing names.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “Not only do I love that you have VOO, but I would...have you even more heavy weighted in those stocks and have you buy even more of them on an individual basis.” —Suze [07:27]

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4. The Retirement Question: What Suze Needs To Answer "Can I Retire?"

[09:14–11:56]

• Listener Q (Darlene): Planning to retire at 67 with no debts—asks if retirement is viable in May 2026 without sharing amounts.
• KT & Suze’s Advice:
  • Key missing info: Actual dollar amounts and projected expenses are essential for accurate advice.
  • Listeners should write: assets (with values), debts, income sources (with figures), planned expenses, Social Security amount, health and insurance status.
  • Hypothetical template provided for “retirement readiness” emails.
• Important Tip:
  • Suze underscores that spending info is as important as savings/investments when planning retirement:
    • “More than what you have, I need to know: what do you spend? What are your expenses?” — Suze [10:14]
• Memorable Quote:
  • “If you want to know something, how it should read: Hi, Suze, I’ll be 67...My house is worth $500,000...I will need X amount of money after tax in order to be able to do so.” — Suze [10:44]

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5. Essential Documents for Young Adults (and Skeptical Sons!)

[12:06–19:58]

• Listener Q (Liz): Wants her son Connor (30) to use the "must-have documents" (wills, powers of attorney etc.) but he’s suspicious that companies will sell his info.
• Suze’s Response:
  • Firmly debunks the privacy concern—Hay House distributes documents but does not access, store, or sell personal info.
  • Legal reality: At 18+, parents cannot legally intervene without documents like advance directives and powers of attorney.
  • Suggestion: At the very least, have Connor sign crucial healthcare documents giving his mother legal authority.
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “The biggest mistake you will make in life is the mistake you don’t even know that you’re making.” —Suze (to Connor) [17:14]
  • “$2,500 worth of state of the art documents, and you don’t want to do it? So Liz, here’s the other thing I would tell you...” —Suze [18:36]

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6. Managing Gifts for Kids: UTMA/UGMA vs. 529 Plans

[19:58–24:39]

• Listener Q (Jean): Family is setting up UTMA accounts for her kids, but she prefers 529 plans for their financial aid advantages.
• Suze’s Strategy:
  • You can’t simply move regular UTMA funds into a standard 529.
  • The workaround: Open a “UTMA 529” — a 529 plan funded by UTMA assets; money remains in the child’s name and must be used for their education.
  • Strongly recommends: Do not invest UTMA funds—transfer the value into a UTMA 529 in cash to avoid triggering taxable gains.
• Key Insight:
  • UTMA assets count against students’ financial aid; 529s generally do not.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “The reason I don’t like UTMA or UGMA accounts is that...it will hurt them for financial aid. A 529 plan does not hurt your child for financial aid. That is why I rather you do a 529 plan than a UTMA.” —Suze [21:51]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On emergency funds:
  “The goal of money is for you to be secure. There is no better way...than having an emergency savings account.” — Suze [00:00]
• On relationships and asset protection:
  “You just never know about the what ifs. Which is why Suze has actually established for us...everything that would legally protect me, as she said, in the event that she was stupid enough to want to divorce me.” — KT [05:37]
• On children’s essential legal documents:
  “If something happens to Connor and he doesn’t have an advance directive and a durable power of attorney for health care...you cannot help him.” — Suze [18:57]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–01:12] — Emergency fund advice
• [03:25–06:23] — Separate trusts and divorce
• [06:57–09:14] — S&P 500, VOO, and investment strategy
• [09:14–11:56] — How to write in for retirement advice
• [12:06–19:58] — Must-have documents for young adults
• [19:58–24:39] — UTMAs, 529s, and financial aid strategy

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Suze’s Core Takeaways

• “The biggest mistake you will make is the one you don’t know you’re making.” [17:14]
• Financial preparedness includes legal and practical measures—security first, then growth.
• For all decisions: “People first, then money, then things.” [25:52]

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Final Tips

• When writing in with questions: Be detailed—include dollar figures, monthly expenses, and specifics about your situation.
• Prepare key legal documents even if you’re young and healthy.
• If you want to keep up with timely episodes and special alerts, subscribe to Suze’s YouTube channel (link).

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Closing Mantra:
“People first, then money, then things. Now, you stay safe, secure and healthy.” — Suze [25:51]

Transcript

[A]

Hi, everybody. Suzio here. Now, what is the goal of money? The goal of money is for you to be secure. And there is no better way for you to be secure than having an emergency savings account. It is essential for your financial foundation. So all of you should be participating in the Ultimate Opportunity savings account at Alliant Credit Union. Go to myalliant.com to find out more. And be secure. October 26, 2025. Welcome to the Women and Money podcast Vacation Edition. It's the vacation edition.

[B]

That's great.

[A]

I love that because KT and I are on vacation right now in Italy. In Italy, painting. We have four days left before we get back. And that's what we're assuming we're doing anyway. So we're doing another Ask KT and Susie anything Sunday.

[B]

Sunday.

[A]

Which, by the way, I'm just going to tell all of you I'm really loving. Because, kt, I have to say something. I've done this podcast now for many years without you.

[B]

It's lonely.

[A]

And not besides the fact that it's lonely, but not so lonely.

[B]

It's lonely.

[A]

Sometimes you aggravate me. But not really. No. But truthfully, I love it when you're doing it with me. And I know there's a lot of people who want the SUSY schools and everything, but honestly, everybody, I don't have many SUSY schools left in me. Only because with 700 podcasts, I. I've taught you a lot that you need to know, and it's already there. So unless a new topic comes up that I really want you to know, I think there's a lot to learn from these questions. And given that we have thousands of.

[B]

Them coming in, we try so hard to answer all of you. We really want to answer all of you.

[A]

So just know that may be a happening. All right, going.

[B]

But also, I just want to say if a world event or something catastrophic may happen, Susie will absolutely jump on and give you every bit of advice that she can to help.

[A]

And the way you'll really know that, by the way, is if you go to YouTube.com susieorman my official YouTube channel. Because when the government shut down, I immediately went there and I did a little five minute video saying exactly what you should do and everything. Because it wasn't a day that the podcast would drop.

[B]

So thousands of people listened to that?

[A]

Well, they did. Not so many. I think 80,000 or something like that. But the first One I did, KT, really, with the tariff, 630,000. Wow. But anyway, that's because People were really afraid. They weren't so afraid when the government shut down and it didn't affect everybody. Or so they thought. Thought. But anyway, go there and subscribe so you'll know when I do something, especially when it's live. All right, kt.

[B]

So my first question is from Bernadette. She said, susie, what are the steps for creating a separate trust? If a marriage is in jeopardy or dissolving and a joint trust had already been created, must a divorce be finalized first? Hmm. My concern is that anything can happen at any time. She's nervous.

[A]

I know. I read this one and answered her.

[B]

Oh, well, what. Tell everyone listening what to do.

[A]

You see people.

[B]

I'm sure there's a lot of people in that same situation.

[A]

When I read an email like this and Bernadette knows I answered her, of course I'm going to send an email to her directly, only because I don't know if she's going to listen to the podcast and hear the answer. All right, so therefore, here's what I told Bernadette. You absolutely can create a separate trust. And you should create a separate trust prior to your divorce. You should fund the trust. Just make sure that you don't take marital assets. And you should absolutely do it before you are divorced. Just that simple. After you actually go and get divorced and start that proceedings, you might not be able to do it. So do it now. That was a short version of what I told her to do.

[B]

But then what happens with the joint trust?

[A]

The joint trust will then get dissolved after she's.

[B]

After the divorce.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

All right. Okay. That sounds easy, but it's still a little scary. So Rachel. Rachel's asking about.

[A]

You know what scares you about that?

[B]

What?

[A]

Because you can never imagine us divorcing.

[B]

We have separate trust number one.

[A]

Yes. That's one of the reasons. Right. Just in case I was stupid enough to ever want to do something.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But it's hard for you. I can see, when you read me emails like that. It's hard for you when you see that somebody is separating or divorcing, it doesn't quite sit well with you.

[B]

Never. Because you just don't know about the what ifs of life. And even though you and I are so 100% solid and connected, you just never know about the what ifs. Which is why Susie has actually established for us, and especially for me, everything that would legally protect me, as she said, in the event that she was so stupid to want to divorce me.

[A]

Right? Yeah.

[B]

But it's true.

[A]

In Katie's Name?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like the island is all in Katie's name. An incredibly valuable asset. Incredibly. Everybody, I want to know that she's okay no matter what. All right.

[B]

All right, next. Thank you, Susie.

[A]

You're welcome, Katie. Oh, kt, let me have the boat, though. The boat's in my name. That's okay. No problem.

[B]

Little boat. How many years old? Over 10. Like our car. Yeah. The car is Susie's car, and she doesn't want to sell it. She loves that car. It's 12 years old.

[A]

No, it is not.

[B]

How old is it?

[A]

14.

[B]

Oh, 14 years old. That thing. We love that little car. And it has, like, 55,000 miles.

[A]

Yeah, I just can't see selling it.

[B]

Nope.

[A]

Buying what?

[B]

Going to keep it. Okay, next question is from Rachel. Hi, KT and Susie. I love VOO as much as Susie, but I'm worried that the top 10 stocks now make up 38%.

[A]

Yes. That's why I like Voo.

[B]

It seems I'm buying the S&P10 rather than the S&P500.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Susie, what do you recommend for us to keep diversified when we open own mostly voo.

[A]

The way things work today, the markets, it's very different than how it worked years and years and years ago. Not only do I love, which is why I chose voo, and also because of its small expense ratio that the top 10 stocks now make up 38% of it. And if you really look at the spiders or VTI, whatever it may be, the top 10 stocks are all the same. They're all the same. Everybody is in AI. But not only do I love that you have voo, but I would actually, besides voo, have you even more heavy weighted in those stocks and have you buy even more of them on an individual basis. So a lot of times when a friend or somebody asks me, what should I invest in or what should I do? I'll say, all right, let's put 50% of your money in VU, and then let's buy Nvidia, AMD, Palantir, IonQ, Ibit, and all of those. So I'm actually even making it more heavy weighted in those stocks than just what VOO has done. So I have to tell you, I don't have a problem with it at all. Diversification, not in the right sector, will leave a lot of money on the table in these kinds of markets, which is why I switched from the VTI, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index, to Voo, because I wanted more concentration in those top 10 stocks.

[B]

Tell everyone what VOO means. What it stands for it's just the.

[A]

Vanguard standard and pores 500 ETF.

[B]

All right, next question is from Darlene. The subject in Darlene's email said, I really need her advice. And I'm going to say, Susie, I really need to know more about Darlene. Are you ready?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

She said, I will be 67 in April 2026. No mortgage, no debts, no car loan. I have an emergency fund, a 403 and a Roth IRA. I want to retire in May20. Can I do that? So Darlene gives us all this information but never a dollar amount against it. All I know is she's going to be 67.

[A]

So why did you pick it?

[B]

Because it's too short. So I need everyone that's listening to know that when you send me an email says I really need her advice, she's not going to be able to give you any advice unless you fill in the blanks.

[A]

So here's the thing, everybody. KT is correct. More than what you have, I need to know, what do you spend? What are your expenses? You don't have to itemize them for me, but if Darlene. And we'll just use this as an example of if you want to know something, how it should read. Hi, Susie, I'll be 67 in April, got no mortgage. My house is worth $500,000. I don't have any debts. I don't have a car loan, but I think I may need to buy a car in the next few years. I do have an emergency fund. How much of an emergency fund? I want to know. I have a 12 month emergency fund. Then I don't have to worry about you. I have a 403 and a Roth IRA. Well, how much do you have in them? I need to know that I want to retire in May 2026. I will need X amount of money after tax in order to be able to do so. My Social Security will be X period. Then I can kind of tell you also say, and I'm in good health and I have a long term care insurance policy.

[B]

Well, and you also want to know a little more about Darlene?

[A]

No.

[B]

Does she have dependents? Is she married? Is her spouse working or not working?

[A]

Well, but the truth is I would just take this one KT and assume that she's single with no dependence and she just wants to take care of herself. So that's how you would do it, Darlene, you want to write back and if KT sees it, maybe she'll choose it.

[B]

All right, fill in the blanks. Darlene, this next question from Liz I love makes me laugh, but you got to set her son straight. You ready?

[A]

Liz says I'm going to like this one, aren't I?

[B]

Yes, you will. Hi, Susie and KT. You inspired me in late 2023 when you spoke to Humana employees. She's been with Humana for 13 years. You spoke to them. Susie, just so everyone knows about having an emergency fund with Secure Save. Susie's one of the founders of Secure Save and it's a great program that she's established.

[A]

Actually, I just have to say something since you brought that up. So five years ago now, myself and two other people, right, Devin and Bassam, founded a company called Secure Save. And all of you could go to securesave.com susie and you'll find out more about it. But it's simply an employer sponsored employee savings plan. So you put in $25, the employer puts in five. Whatever it may be, you have access to that money anytime you want. It is fabulous and it's been very successful. Therefore, if you want your employer to offer it, go to Securesave.com Susiorman or just go to Securesave.com and you'll see it there. And if you're an employer and you want to find out more about it to offer it to your employees, go to those places as well. All right.

[B]

Yeah. Because Liz is one happy employee. She said not only Susie did you talk to her about an emergency fund with Secure Save, but many other important tips like having a Roth account. So she's learned so much from you. She said since then, I am a devoted listener and taking action on so many things you have opened my eyes to.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Thank you. Have a Roth. I save bi weekly in Secure Save and I've purchased the must have documents and so much more. Here's my question. I'm now paying it forward with my four sons with all the great info you provide each week on your podcast and ask Susie and KT anything. Connor, age 30, doesn't want to use the documents. The must have documents ready. These are just so everyone knows they're distributed and through Hay House. And he's telling me these companies use and or sell people's personal information.

[A]

He's an idiot.

[B]

Well, his mom thinks so too. Ready. So he won't do it. Unfortunately, he won't listen to me on how important those documents are and like you have said, could be very costly elsewhere. But the most important that worries me is the fact that if he is incapacitated in some way, he should appoint someone to make decisions on his behalf.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

So Connor's single. She said, I know it's his choice to make. Maybe you could shed some light on Hay House and how they handle personal info. Hoping this will knock some sense into my son's brain. She said, thank you both for making my life better now and in my retirement years. Better late than never. And that's from Liz. I thought you would love that. Liz is a Humana employee and she really, really benefited from the talk you gave them almost three years ago now.

[A]

Yes, a lot of corporations hire me to give talks like that to them. Although I said to KT the other day, kt, what'd I say to you?

[B]

She's not sure if she wants to do any more speaking engagements, which makes me really sad because she's great.

[A]

I'm so great at it.

[B]

It's the best of Susie you would ever experience is in front of a live audience on a stage. And I can't begin to tell you how thrilling it is because no one ever knows what she's going to say, what mood she's in, how she's going to, you know, handle her audience. It's a big surprise. It's like Christmas every time she does these live talks. Really, really fun. I miss them. I always miss them.

[A]

Do I tell you one of my favorite sayings? What was was and what was will never be again. So here, Liz, this is what I would say to Connor. Connor, the biggest mistake you will make in life is the mistake you don't even know that you're making at 30. You think you know so much. You think you know what companies do. Don't you get it, Connor? That Hay House doesn't have a what your information is that you put on it. You keep it on your computer. You have it. They don't have any access to it. That's why you create your own passcode. They just give you an activation code. You open up the documents, then from that point on, they are all yours. They know nothing about it. So, Liz, first of all, you don't have to worry about it. You don't have to let his fear of the unknown put fear into you of what does Hay House do with all these documents? They don't know. So how many times have we been contacted by a lawyer, seriously, that says this person died? Her children said that this person did the documents with the must have documents, but they don't know where they are. Do you have a copy of them? And Hay House has to write back and say no, we don't have anything. They don't even know if you filled them out or ever used them. So grow up Connor. Seriously. You don't want to do it? Fine. Go to a lawyer and spend $2,500 or $5,000 or whatever just so you can sit there and let the lawyer know everything that you have. How do you know what the lawyer does with that information? Really, Connor, Just saying. Don't be stupid. If you want to be smart, take advantage of the fact that your mother bought the must have documents and she is allowed to share them with anybody in her family for absolutely free. You can make changes. Are you kidding me? $2,500 worth of state of the art documents and you don't want to do it? So Liz, here's the other thing I would tell you.

[B]

Tell everyone how much the must have documents are.

[A]

They're $99. They are going to go up sometime next year. A considerable amount by the way everybody. So you should take advantage of it. Now go to musthavedocs.com just that simple. Now one other thing, Liz. Your fear about if something happens to Connor and he doesn't have an advance directive and a durable power of attorney for health care because he is over 18, you cannot help him. So if you want, print out again the documents, he doesn't have to sign the trust, he doesn't have to do anything. But just have him give you the power to make decisions for him if anything were to happen to him. Just that simple. And again, hey, he doesn't trust that. Go to a hospital, go somewhere and get one so that he is protected in case something happens to him.

[B]

This is my final email. It's from Jean and it's a UTMA account. First Susie, tell everyone what that is.

[A]

Uniform transfer to minors account. It can also be a UGMA account with a uniform Gift to minors account. All right.

[B]

All right. So this is from Jean. She said. Dear Susan kt, thank you so much for all of your advice over the years. You responded to a question of mine two years ago about my plan to use money from my Roth to make a down payment on a house for my family. You gave me the confidence to go forward with a scary but wonderful decision. We are so happy in our new home.

[A]

Love that.

[B]

Good. And now Jean said, I'm writing today to ask for some guidance regarding UTMA accounts for my daughters, age 6 and 8. My husband's great uncle is opening these accounts for them this month. I have no idea what the dollar amount is going to be, but probably in the 5 to $15,000 range for each of them. I did my homework and I know that you don't recommend UTMA accounts, but there's no way I will say anything about it to my in laws. The family dynamic will not allow it and my kids are likely to end up with nothing if I do so. So ready. But. But wait. Jean's really smart here. She said so. Given what I know, I was thinking I would just plan to transfer $2,500 each year into a 529 plan for each kid. Can you expand more on what actions you would recommend to make the most out of this gift to my children?

[A]

I love that idea. You are so spot on. I have to tell you to transfer it each year. Now listen to me. First of all, the reason everybody, I don't like UTMA or UGMA accounts is that especially if your kid is going to apply for financial aid, it's considered your kid's asset and it will hurt them for financial aid. A 529 plan does not hurt your child for financial aid. That is why I rather you do a 529 plan than a UTMA. However, since Gene can't say anything about it, what you're going to do is you're going to do your plan of transferring your money from a utma to a 529. However, you can't directly transfer UTMA funds into a regular 529 plan because the money legally belongs to the child. However, you can open a UTMA 529 account which is a 529 plan funded with UTMA money. Now remember, it must remain in the child's name. The custodian must use it for that child's qualified education expenses. You can't change the beneficiary to another person, unlike another normal 529. So you have to know all these things, Jean. And to fund it, the custodian sells the investments in the utma. So don't invest the money in the UTMA once the uncle gives it to the kid, all right? And then you have to contribute it to the UTMA 529. And there you go. Just that simple. Now if you invested it, everybody, let's say you had money in a UTMA or a UGMA in the kid's name. You had invested it and now you want to put it in a 529 plan for them. You would have to sell the investments and then the kids would have to pay taxes on the gain, if there's any. That's why, Jean, in your particular situation, just take it, don't invest it, leave it in cash, but immediately transfer it to a UTMA 529 account in cash. Just that simple. Brilliant girlfriend.

[B]

Why can't the uncle open the utma?

[A]

Well, they wouldn't have 529.

[B]

Why can't he open that?

[A]

He would just open up. Truthfully, a 529 regular plan would be 10 times smarter than doing a utma first. There's no need, KT to open up a utma 529 if you just have a 529. So you would never put money into a utma first. You would bypass it altogether. However, Jean can't tell the uncle. Can you just put it in a 529 plan rather than a utma? She's not open to do that, according to her email. So he thinks he's giving the kid a gift. And he is. But to make it a true gift to the kid, Gene's going to transfer it to a utma529 account. Just that simple. Good thinking, girl friend. Anyway, KT, that's it. So there's only one thing you want to tell people as we leave this podcast. What is it?

[B]

There's only three things we want you to remember.

[A]

Three.

[B]

Not one. Three.

[A]

Three.

[B]

And it's this. People. First, then money, then things.

[A]

Now, you stay safe, secure and healthy. And make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel. Go to YouTube.com Susie Orman and be smart. All right, everybody.

[B]

Arriba der chi.

[A]

See you soon. Bye bye.

[B]

We are strong, we are wise.

[A]

We will not apologize.

[B]

We are here.

[A]

We will thrive Together we will rise.

[B]

Everything it takes. We are strong, we are wise Together we will rise.

[A]

Hi everybody. Suzy O here. Now, if you are looking for a way to start saving to get the most out of your money, I want you to go to myalliant.com that's M y a l l I a n t dot com and look into opening an ultimate opportunity savings account. Put in at least $100 a single month for 12 consecutive months, earn 3.10% interest on your money right now and get $100 at the end. Are you kidding me? It's the best deal out there. Start saving right now.

[C]

Neither Susie Orman Media nor Susie Orman is acting as a certified financial planner advisor, a certified financial analyst, an economist, cpa, accountant or lawyer. Neither Suze Orman Media nor Susie Orman make any recommendations as to any specific securities or investments. All content contained in this podcast is for informational and general purposes only and does not constitute financial accounting or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and financial advisors regarding your particular situation. Neither Suze Orman Media nor Suze Orman accepts any responsibility for any losses which may arise from accessing or reliance on information in this podcast and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for loss damages, direct or indirect, arising from the use of this information. The must have documents discussed in this podcast are legal documents created by a lawyer and distributed by Hay House.