Suze's Mega Retirement Plan Strategy For 2026

Summary

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

Episode Summary: Suze's Mega Retirement Plan Strategy For 2026

Release Date: January 4, 2026
Host: Suze Orman
Co-host: KT

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Overview

In this lively New Year’s episode, Suze Orman delivers her "Mega Retirement Plan Strategy for 2026," aimed at both long-time listeners and newcomers ready to take their retirement savings—and understanding—to the next level. With her signature blend of tough love, humor, and actionable advice, Suze tackles the biggest changes to retirement accounts for 2026, with an intense focus on Roth accounts, catch-up contributions for higher earners, and a little-known IRS rule (415c) that can turbocharge tax-free retirement savings. Suze is joined by her partner KT, who serves as a bridge for listeners who might feel overwhelmed by these complex topics.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Welcome & Episode Setup

• Suze and KT open with playful banter about KT’s ongoing confusion with Roth accounts.
• Suze emphasizes the importance of security through emergency savings and introduces this episode’s focus on advanced retirement savings strategies.

  "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." – Suze (00:02)

2. The "Susie School" Begins: Roth Account 101 (and Beyond)

• Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s are Suze’s favorite retirement vehicles.
• She stresses that, if eligible, Roth accounts are superior to traditional pre-tax accounts for most people (05:05–07:00).

  "In my opinion, I really believe that the only place in most circumstances where you should be putting money is a Roth." – Suze (04:54)

2026 Contribution Limits

• Roth IRA:
  • Under 50: $7,500 annual contribution.
  • Age 50+: $8,600 (includes $1,100 catch-up).
  • Must have earned income at least equal to the contribution amount.
• Income limits for Roth IRA contributions:

  • Single: Full contribution if Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) under $153,000, phases out up to $168,000.

  • Married filing jointly: Full contribution if MAGI under $242,000, phases out up to $252,000.

  • Married filing separately: Only allowed if lived apart for the entire year; otherwise, ineligible if income exceeds $10,000.

    "If you are married, filing separately, and you truly live apart from your spouse for the entire year, then you get to use the single Roth limits... But if you lived together even for one day, the Roth door practically slams shut on you." – Suze (07:28)

3. Major Change: Catch-Up Contributions for High Earners

• New for 2026: If you’re 50 or older and earn more than $150,000 in W-2 wages in 2025, every dollar of your catch-up contribution must go into your Roth 401(k), 403(b), or TSP—not a traditional pre-tax account. (12:20–14:25)

  “If you are 50 or older and you earned more than $150,000 in W-2 wages from an employer in 2025, then every dollar of your catch-up contribution has to go to a Roth.” – Suze (13:56)

• Catch-up contribution limits:

  • Age 50+: $8,000
  • Super catch-up (Ages 60–63): $11,250 in addition to regular contribution, for a total of $35,750.

• If your employer doesn’t offer a Roth option: they must add it or you will not be able to make catch-up contributions.

  “Most employees are now going to finally add a Roth option, KT. Because I got news. Employees are going to get really angry when catch-ups disappear simply because they didn't offer a Roth option.” – Suze (14:40)

4. Hidden Gem: After-Tax Contributions via IRS Rule 415(c)

• IRS Rule 415(c): Allows for after-tax contributions up to $72,000 (under 50) or $80,000 (50+) per employer in your 401(k), including both employee and employer contributions.
• Any extra after-tax contributions (beyond standard and catch-up) can be made and, if your plan allows, immediately converted to your Roth 401(k) for tax-free growth—a powerful “Mega Backdoor Roth” strategy.

  "Now you can have your cake and eat it too." – Suze (18:08)

Action Steps for Listeners:

1. Check 2025 W-2 wages to determine eligibility and planning needs.

2. Ask your HR department the following:

   • Do you support Roth catch-up contributions?
   • Do you allow after-tax contributions to the 401(k) plan?
   • Do you allow in-plan conversions (so after-tax can move to Roth)?

3. Consult a tax advisor to optimize withholdings and strategy.

   “This is how you build up a massive tax-free retirement account. This is how you do it. But you have to know if you are allowed to do it or not.” – Suze (19:20)

5. Listener Acknowledgment and Encouragement

• Suze makes it clear that this episode is especially valuable for those already maxing out their retirement plans, but motivates everyone to aim for that position:

  “For those of you who are going to be in that situation one day or who are in that situation now, this podcast was for you.” – Suze (23:43)

• She reassures listeners that anyone confused should submit questions to the show and check the community app for the full summary.

  “If you have questions about this, I want you to write them... Keep them short... This coming Thursday, we will answer any questions that you happen to be confused about this now.” – Suze (20:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• KT: “Susie’s starting the new year with her boyfriend, Roth…” (02:46)
• Suze: “A lot of you are probably sitting there thinking, Suze, I don’t even fully fund my retirement accounts now… But hopefully, if you continue to listen... now the majority of them... are multimillionaires, maxed out... own two homes, and now have extra money to invest.” (23:32)
• KT: “If everyone follows this rule, you’re going to have—what do you call it—a mega retirement strategy.” (23:25)
• Suze: “People first, then money, then things. Then Roth.” (24:25)
• KT: “That was a really tough opening of ’26. Not necessarily what I expected…” (23:16)

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Important Timestamps

• Roth IRA overview and 2026 contribution/income limits: 04:41–09:09
• New catch-up rule for high earners: 12:20–14:25
• Explanation of IRS Rule 415(c) and mega backdoor Roth: 16:13–20:00
• Action steps and final strategy summary: 19:20–21:56
• Listener direction for questions/community: 20:47–21:56
• Closing motivational thoughts: 23:32–24:30

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Tone and Style

The episode is warm, fast-paced, and conversational, with Suze taking the role of teacher and KT as the relatable student, often echoing the confusion of listeners new to advanced retirement strategies. Suze’s advice is direct, emphatic, and comes with urgency—ensuring listeners are equipped to take full advantage of changing retirement rules.

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Takeaways

• Roth accounts (IRA/401k) are key tools for building tax-free retirement wealth—make sure you’re maximizing them under new 2026 rules.
• Big changes for higher earners 50+: If you want to make catch-up contributions and make over $150,000 in W2 wages, you MUST use a Roth 401(k).
• IRS Rule 415(c) offers a ‘mega backdoor Roth’ pathway for those who can save above the standard limits—understand it and ask your HR if your plan allows it.
• Stay engaged: submit questions and check Suze’s app/community for summaries and clarifications.

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Final Words:
“People first, then money, then things. Then Roth.” —Suze (24:25)

Transcript

[Susie Orman]

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.

[KT]

Hey, everybody, it's KT and Susie here. And today is the beginning of 2026. Women and Money podcast.

[Susie Orman]

What's the date?

[KT]

KT January 4th. Do you believe it?

[Susie Orman]

2026.

[KT]

So it's still Happy New Year.

[Susie Orman]

It's Happy New Year, yes. But you have to welcome, everybody.

[KT]

Welcome and Money Podcast and today's special.

[Susie Orman]

You gotta do it right, kt, come on.

[KT]

Welcome to the Women and Money podcast and ask KT and Susanni.

[Susie Orman]

All right.

[KT]

Welcome to the Women and Money Podcast 2026. This is Susie School.

[Susie Orman]

All right, let's stop, everybody. You would think by the time we've gone into this many years, Katie would get it right, wouldn't you? Welcome to the Women and Money podcast. And everybody smart enough to listen.

[KT]

And Susie's school.

[Susie Orman]

And Susie just schooled you.

[KT]

Oh, my God, wait till you hear what she has in store today. And that's why I'm sitting in here with her. None of you are gonna understand it.

[Susie Orman]

I was trying to explain. KT this morning asked me, susie, what are we gonna do for the first podcast of the year that we're doing? And I said, first of all, kt, it's Susie's school I'm doing. And I started to explain to her what it was.

[KT]

And what did you say is going to get it. And you need me in there to ask questions or to listen because if I don't get it, they're not going to get it.

[Susie Orman]

Now, why do you all think that she doesn't think you're going to get it, Everybody.

[KT]

Simple four letter word, right? And the word is Roth.

[Susie Orman]

Now, for those of those of you who are new to the Women in Money podcast and everyone's smart enough to listen. Oh, thank you, kt. What you have to know about KT is this. Roth's my favorite retirement account. Totally does her in. She just goes nuts with them. So that's why she thought she needed to be here today.

[KT]

Susie's starting the new year with her boyfriend, Roth, and all of these accounts that are so confusing, but they're really important because we're all going to benefit from them, but they're Very, very confusing. So you need to listen up and you need to listen carefully.

[Susie Orman]

So right now, Susie's school is in session, but I am telling all of you, you have got to take out your Susie notebooks because it's possible or probable you have no idea about what I am going to tell you today. So we'll just kind of sit here and we'll wait for KT for them to take out their notebooks. How was your New Year's?

[KT]

It was great. Tell everybody what we did. All right, so we're back in Florida. You all know that we're no longer living in the Bahamas. We're back in Florida. We have this fabulous cozy little condo. And we looked at each other and said, we're not going to parties. We're not going to watch Anderson and Andy on Drop the Ball on New Year's Eve in Times Square. We are going to do something very different. She said what? I said, I'm going to make a big bowl of popcorn and we're going to watch the Landman series and binge it until 2026. And that's exactly what we did. So it's, it was so great.

[Susie Orman]

So, Landman, for those of you who don't know if I don't know how you get it, but you should get it, it is worth every single penny of it. Number one, there are two seasons. We did the entire first season, which was 10 episodes. The second season, seven episodes. Set well now as of today, eight. The eight.

[KT]

Oh, yeah, today. Can't wait. After this podcast, I'm going right into, right into it.

[Susie Orman]

All right, kt, you think they all have their numbers?

[KT]

I think everyone's ready, Susie.

[Susie Orman]

All right, so here we go. Susie's school with my most favorite pupil of all, KT is ready to begin. Now, hopefully all of you know that there are two kinds of retirement accounts, traditional or pre tax ones and Roth or after tax ones. So the contribution limits I'm about to tell you are the same for traditional IRAs as they are for Roths as well as traditional and Roth for employer plans. However, let me just state now, in my opinion, I really believe that the only place in most circumstances where you should be putting money is a Roth if it's available to you. So if you are going to contribute to a pre tax plan, know the limits for contributions apply to both. However, I'm only addressing Roths today. So in 2026, the Roth IRA contribution limits are $7,500 if you are under $58,600 if you are 50 or older, because that includes the $1,100. Catch up. So if you're 50 or older, you're allowed to put in $1,100 more than the $7,500 if you are Under 50. But here is what you need to know. You can only contribute up to the point of the max if you have earned at least that amount of money. So for Roth, you have to have earned at least $7,500 if you're under $58,600 if you're 50 or older to put in the max. If you only earn $4,000, that is the max that you can put in. Now, let's talk about the income limits. If you are filing single, you can put the max of 7,500 or 8,600 if you are 50 or older. If your modified adjusted gross income is under $153,000, you can put in money all the way from 153,000 to 168,000. However, it starts to decrease as you make more money. But after 168,000 of modified adjusted gross income, you no longer qualify for a contributory Roth. And again, a contributory Roth is where every year you put in the money that we just talked about. Do you got that, kt?

[KT]

Yeah.

[Susie Orman]

You're good.

[KT]

I got that.

[Susie Orman]

All right. That means we're doing good, everybody. All right. If you are married, finding single, be careful here. And you are living with your spouse, you do not qualify at all for a Roth if you make more than $10,000. Just know that. However, if you are married and filing separately, everybody, and you truly live apart from your spouse for the entire year, then you get to use the single Roth limits that I just told you about. But if you lived together even for one day, the Roth door practically slams shut on you. However, if you are married finally and jointly, you can do a full contribution up to the point of the max. If your modified adjusted gross income is under $242,000, and again from $242,000 to $252,000, the max starts to go down. And once you've reached $252,000, you. You no longer qualify for a contributory Roth. Now, besides the Roth kt, you get. Is this good so far?

[KT]

Yeah, I'm trying to follow. I'm trying to follow. I'm being honest. It's a little complicated.

[Susie Orman]

But kt, these are contributions that everybody should know. I'm just reviewing in case you're new everybody to Roths and what we learned by the way, at the dinner that we were at on the 30th, we went out to dinner with a whole bunch of new people that we had met. They had no idea.

[KT]

No one at the table knew about. Well, some people did, but most did not have a clue. These were really successful people.

[Susie Orman]

And I was just like, what? So anyway, me too.

[KT]

So since I've told them I knew more than them.

[Susie Orman]

So since I told all of them to tune in, here we go. The business for them since they've tuned in. Now listen, besides a Roth, a contributory Roth, an ira, which you can do on your own and you can do it at any brokerage firm, wherever you want to do it. If you work for an employer, you can also have your Roth IRAs and either a Roth 401K, a Roth 403 or TSP, depending on what your employer offers. So most places that you work for offer a Roth version as well as a traditional one. But you listen to me and you listen to me closely. I only want you to do a Roth if it is offered. Now let's go over the contribution limits for 2026 because they have changed everybody. The employee Contribution limits are $24,500 if you're under 50, 32,500 if you're 50 or older, because that includes an $8,000 catch up. Now KT, when I was telling her about that this morning, she said, so you have to put in all $8,000. I said, no, that's the max catch up, but you can put in an extra thousand dollars. Three thousand, but the max catch up is $8,000. But if you are between 60 and 63, you get the super catch up, which is $11,250. So in the years 60, 61, 62 and 63, you can put in 11,250 more than what somebody under 50 can put in. So this year it would be a total of $35,750. Now, your employer match does not count towards your employee limit. Just so you are clear on that. Not all employers match, but most of them do. However, once again, just like I told you with the IRA limits that the max is 100% of what you earned, whichever one is less, or whatever the max is, or whatever you earn, whichever one is less. That also applies to your 401k, 403b, tsp and the catch up, just so you know. Now here's the real reason for the podcast today, because most of you knew exactly what I've already told you, except we have new limits starting January 1, 2026. And I want you to pay attention here, okay? If you are 50 or older and you earned more than $150,000 in W2 wages from an employer in 2025, then every dollar of your catch up contribution has to go to a Roth. And that's where KT went. What? What? So again, a catch up contribution is what you voluntarily want to put in once you turn 50 or older because you want to put more money and you want to catch up on. Maybe you didn't max out, maybe you have extra money so you want to get it into the retirement account. So it's called a catch up. However, this rule only applies to the catch up if you are 50 or older and you earned more than $150,000 in W2 wages from an employer in 2025 that goes into a Roth 401K, 403B or TSP. Now I'm going to tell you something that I'm sure most of you expect. I personally love this new rule. I love it because it's almost like it's forcing you to put your catch ups or some money in a Roth retirement account. If you are 50 or older and you earned more than $150,000 in W2 wages for from an employer in 2025. Because many of you are just so stubborn and you go, no, I want the write off now. When I retire, I'm going to be in a lower tax bracket. Good luck everybody. However, it's almost like the government is saying you don't have a choice because guess what? You don't. And I love that they're doing this. But what happens if your employer doesn't have a Roth 401k option? Guess what? They either have to add one or you're not going to be allowed to make a catch up contribution. Do you get that?

[KT]

So tell your boss to add it.

[Susie Orman]

So most employees are now going to finally add a Roth option, kt Because I got news. Employees are going to get really angry when ketchups disappear simply because they didn't offer a Roth option. Now, I have to tell you the truth. Normally, Katie, I would stop at this point because this is a lot. According to your face, this is a lot. But I am not stopping here because there is something that I have never talked about in all these years, but it's something at this point that I really want you to know.

[KT]

Okay, here we go.

[Susie Orman]

No, why is that? I want them to know this.

[KT]

I don't know.

[Susie Orman]

I'm going to tell you. All right, you ready?

[KT]

I'm ready. Here we go.

[Susie Orman]

All right. It's because over all the years, Katie, that the people have been listening to me. And truly the majority of people that are listening to this podcast are 50, 60, 70, 80, even in their 40s, their 30s. And I got news for you. They are making a lot of money, or they have a lot of money. They're still working, they've maxed out their 401ks or 403s. Now they don't know what to do to save for retirement, so they put it in an investment account. Now I'm going to tell them what they can do if they still are working and they have extra money, what I want them to do with it.

[KT]

So listen up. Listen up, everyone with that extra money, listen up.

[Susie Orman]

There is a IRS rule and it's called 4:15 C. 415 C. Now I've never talked about this before, but you need to know about it. And it allows you in an employer plan to put in after tax contributions into your 401k and the max because there is a limit. The 415 max is ready, $72,000 per employer or 80,000 per employer if you are 50 or older. You can only contribute up to the point of the max if you have earned at least that amount of money. How do you get to that number? If you are under 50, the 72,000 limit includes your employee contributions, which is $24,500 this year and your employer match. You would add all those together and minus it from the 72,000 limit and that is how much you can put in extra from your after tax contribution. I want all of you to listen to this again and again so that you understand it. However, why am I talking to all of you about the 415 now when I never did previously? Because now that it's mandatory, if you are 50 or older and you earned more than $150,000 in W2 wages from an employer in 2025, your catch up contributions have to go into a Roth 401k. Now all corporations are going to start to offer a Roth 401K and most of them, if you complain enough to them to allow in plan conversions, now you can have your cake and eat it too. Where if you have extra money that you're putting in an investment account for your retirement now you would put it in via a 415C into your traditional 401K and immediately convert it, if allowed to your Roth 401K. So the reason for this podcast today is this is how you build up a massive tax free retirement account. This is how you do it. But you have to know if you are allowed to do it or not. So here's what I need you to do. Number one, I need you to look at your 2025 W2 wages. You need to know what did you make, what is on your W2. All right? Then you need to call your HR department and ask if they have the ability to support or Roth catch ups. Because you need to know if you're going to be allowed to do a catch up in your 401k plan. You need to know that, especially if you're 50 and older and you earned more than $150,000 in W2 wages from an employer in 2025. You also need to ask them if they allow after tax contributions into your 401k plan and ask them if they allow in plan conversions. Once you know all that, then maybe you talk to your accountant or your CPA to adjust your withholdings to do whatever. Since now we have a new tax strategy for all of you. So here's what I want all of you to do because I can tell you by KT's face, she could not be more confused if she tried, correct?

[KT]

Yeah, I'm a little confused.

[Susie Orman]

A lot confused. So if you have questions about this, I want you to write them to asksusypodcastmail.com don't keep them short. Keep them short. Don't necessarily keep them really short.

[KT]

And I'll answer. I'll give them to Susie if you can keep them short.

[Susie Orman]

This coming Thursday, we will answer any questions that you happen to be confused about this now on the wall, however, today I will post a summary of all of these things that I just said. The amounts that this and that that you can just kind of just copy and print out. For all of you that don't know, we have a women and money community app. Just download it on Apple Apps or Google Play. Obviously it's free. And you'll see little boxes and there is a wall and that's where all of you talk to one another once in a while I go on there as well. But that's where I will list everything that I just said today in a very simple format in terms of the amounts. Does that help you, Katie?

[KT]

Yeah, I love that. Then I can read what to do and get it done right.

[Susie Orman]

Also all of you, do not forget to go to my YouTube channel, YouTube.com Susie Orman, where you never know when KT and I this year may start to actually video these podcasts?

[KT]

Oh, my God, really?

[Susie Orman]

Yes. The two of us, now that we're back in Florida, maybe we'll go to a real studio and do it. You know, early this morning, we started to do this podcast. And in the middle of us doing it, what happened, kt?

[KT]

The fire alarm went off in the.

[Susie Orman]

Building, so then we had to listen to it for an hour. And I said, you know, kt, it's a little different than when we were on the island, so we'll figure that out. However, I hope you're happy that we're back. I hope you understand why I chose to do this particular podcast. Remember, you can still fund your 2025 Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. If you want to do a traditional up till April 15th of this year, but use 2025 MAIG limits and the limits for 2025 if you're going to do so. All right, Ms. Travis, how'd we do?

[KT]

That was a really tough opening of 26. Not necessarily what I expected. But here's the good news.

[Susie Orman]

What's the good news, girlfriend?

[KT]

If everyone follows this rule, you're going to have what you call it a mega retirement strategy.

[Susie Orman]

Yeah. And I know a lot of you are probably sitting there thinking, susie, I don't even fully fund my retirement accounts now. I get that. But hopefully, if you continue to listen to the Women and Money podcast enough, just like the majority of the people listening who, when they first started with me 30 years ago, they had debt, some were living in their car, they didn't own any real estate. Now, the majority of them, honest to God, super rich, are multimillionaires, maxed out their retirement accounts, own two homes, and now have extra money to invest. For those of you who are going to be in that situation one day or who are in that situation now, this podcast was for you. So, until Thursday, when we will be answering your questions on this podcast, there's only one thing that we want you to remember for this new year. And what is it, girlfriend?

[KT]

People first, then money, then things. Then Roth.

[Susie Orman]

Now you stay safe. See you Thursday.

[KT]

Bye. Bye.

[Chorus Singer]

We are here we will thrive Together we will rise we're the little benef and everything it takes we are strong, we are wise Together we will rise.

[Susie Orman]

Hi, everybody. Suzy O. Here. And I have to tell all of you, there is one benefit that I know all of you need and your corporations need to offer, and it comes from a company that I helped co found over 5 years ago by the name of Secure Save. So whether you're an employee or an employer, I want you to go to securesave.com Suzy S U Z E and take a look at what I have for you there. I promise you you're gonna like it.

[Podcast Disclaimer Narrator]

All right now, neither Suze Orman Media nor Suze Orman is acting as a Certified Financial Planner Advisor, a Certified Financial Analyst, an economist, cpa, accountant or lawyer. Neither Suze Orman Media nor Suze 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. Thanks for listening.