Podcast Episode – Can My Spouse Fund My Roth?

On this episode of Ask KT & Suze Anything, Suze answers your questions about being an executor, collecting ex-spouses social security, accessing your Roth 401k, while living abroad and so much more.

This episode has been updated and corrected since it’s original publication.

Listen to Podcast Episode:

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Podcast Transcript:

KT: Good morning, Suze.

Suze: Good morning, Miss Travis. How are you today?

KT: I feel pretty good. Little, little rainy and cold here in South Florida.

Suze: I know, right?

KT: The weather’s really strange.

Suze: So strange, very strange, strange. But what is the date?

KT: January 15th, 2026.

Suze: And welcome everybody to the Women and Money podcast as well as everybody smart enough to listen. Listen to my voice.

KT: Yeah, it sounds good.

Suze: Is it low? How low can you go? And today is Ask KT and Suze Anything.

If you have a question that you would like us to answer on the podcast, please write in AskSuzePodcast@gmail.com. And if KT chooses it, it will be answered on the podcast. Keep it short. There are thousands. How many did you see?

KT: You had 2,000, then 6,000 the next day, right?

Suze: So a lot comes in. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try because obviously some are chosen. And again, many of you know I do peruse these, and if I see one that catches my eye, I will answer you directly.

So tell everybody what we did.

KT: We had the best weekend.

Suze: Last weekend, yes.

KT: So Suze and I went on a road trip, and it was our first road trip of 2026, and we drove to…

Suze: Well, KT, let’s be honest, it was our first road trip in 14 years…

KT: Since we moved from the Bahamas back to back to where there’s roads.

We drove five and a half hours to Amelia Island, and it was spectacular. It was really fun and…

Suze: So wait, we went there because our two really good friends…

KT: Lisa and Jill.

Suze: Lisa and Jill. Oprah friends.

So Lisa Halliday was the PR force behind The Oprah Winfrey Show for God knows how many years, and Jill Adams—and still does so—but was the one behind Oprah’s Book Club for all those years, picking and helping Oprah pick all of those books, and we just love these girls more than you have any idea.

And so they happened to be in Amelia Island with Lisa’s parents, and we decided let’s go have dinner with them.

KT: We also had another reason to go to Amelia Island.

Suze: Tell everybody why.

KT: We love you, Lisa and Jill, but we were really excited to go to Olive Amelia. Olive Amelia is a little shop down in the, the village, like the main street of Amelia Island, very quaint Victorian village.

And Olive Amelia’s, the shop sells olive oil and vinegars, and Suze and I are hooked on Sicilian lemon white balsamic vinegar.

Suze: That just comes from this one store.

KT: We’ve been importing it. Well, we’ve been asking her to send it to us.

We have been buying it now for like two or three years in the Bahamas. We get this sent to us because it’s so delicious. We love it.

We put it on salad, fish. We put it on everything.

Suze: So we went in to finally say, hi Laura, the woman who owns it. Look, it’s us in person, and she couldn’t believe it.

KT: She posted a little movie, I think it’s on her site, right?

Suze: You know what? I didn’t look…

KT: We have to look.

Suze: But I did a video telling everybody, this is not a paid announcement, by the way, right? Everybody, you gotta try this. So I’m just gonna say to all of you.

If you wanna try something incredible, I’m telling you incredible, just do a little one. They have a very little tiny bottle for like $7 or $8. Try it. What’s it called again?

KT: It’s Sicilian lemon, white balsamic vinegar.

Suze: I promise you, if you try it, oh, I should, you know, we’re gonna get him hooked on spending money.

I think you wanna know something, KT? I think this is the first time in the history of The Suze Orman Show, the podcast, anything I’ve ever done…

KT: Where you ask someone to buy something…

Suze: But I promise you, if I promise you, oh my God, anyway, all right, go on.

KT: All right, let’s get this show started. So I have a first question that’s not even a question. It’s a statement from David, and David said:

“Suze, I’ve been listening to you for 25 years.”

Suze: Makes me feel old, David.

KT: “The Sunday podcast this past Sunday was your best ever. The greatest free advice out here. Welcome to Florida. My family was from Evergreen Park. Thank you for what you do and God bless you.” That’s from David.

Suze: You know what I find funny about that, KT, is that David, a man, finds last Sunday’s podcast, which was all about the market and what I thought, the best ever.

But that wasn’t the best ever because, in my opinion, that was about money, just straight money. And it seems like men care more about, when they write in, “Can you talk about money? Can you talk about what stocks? Can you do this?” I really think the best podcasts I’ve ever done on the Women and Money podcast are the ones that talk about emotions and the qualities of people and fear and shame and anger and those things.

Those are the ones I love the most, because I have to tell you, if you don’t have control over who you are, it doesn’t matter what I tell you to buy. You will buy at the wrong time and sell at the wrong time. Just saying. But David, thank you so much for thinking that.

KT: Yea, David. That was the best ever for David, Suze.

Suze: Well, actually, KT thought it was fabulous.

KT: All right, so ready? Andrea wrote, “Hi, Suze. I’ve been named the executor of three family members’ individual wills. Boy, they must all like Andrea.

Is there information on this app on what executors need to do once the family member passes away? So thank you in advance and thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.”

Suze: Andrea, I want you to listen to me closely. Being an executor of a will, especially a will, if they have real estate in their names and all kinds of accounts in their names and it’s not in a trust, it is a big, big job.

It’s a big job because you are the one who’s going to have to work with an attorney most likely to go through probate, pay the probate fees, make sure that everything is transferred the way that it should be. It is a job.

What you really should do, because to tell you everything that an executor does would take up this whole podcast, so maybe you go on ChatGPT or you go somewhere and they’ll list everything for you as to what an executor does.

But if you have accepted this, you might also want to say to them, you know what, if they own a house, if they have certain things that really would have to go through probate, I’m here to tell you you should talk to them about getting a living revocable trust where you would become the successor trustee if anything were to happen to them.

What you would do is go to must-havedocs.com. And there you could get the must-have docs, which happen to be a will, a living revocable trust, an advanced directive, and durable power of attorney for healthcare, as well as one for finances. You just have to get one and share it among the three of them.

Remember there is shareware there where if you buy it, you have the permission to share it with your family members. $99 will save you thousands of dollars in probate fees, maybe one or two years in settling the estate, making sure that it is not that hard on you, and it tells you everything you need to do in there, just so you need to know.

But as an executor, if all they have is a will, it’s gonna be a big deal most likely for you. All right, go on.

KT: So my next question, and Suze and I just told you all that we get thousands of questions. So selecting them, there’s a little secret that I have. In the subject area on this question it says, “Frothy Rothy question.”

Suze: Well, tell everybody what a frothy is.

KT: A Frothy Rothy was a podcast we did last summer about the green drink that I make that we drink as well in the summer. We have a different drink than in the winter, but Frothy Rothy, you’re gonna have to go back and listen to that drink and its recipe.

Suze: But that’s not what I was gonna ask you.

KT: What were you gonna ask me?

Suze: See, she always thinks she knows what I’m gonna say. I want you to tell everybody for 2026, what is your new view on Roths and all of that.

KT: Oh, I’m gonna study that thing and know it inside, out, upside down, back door, front door, side door, you name it.

Suze: And what word are you never going to use again?

KT: That it’s too complicated.

Suze: You’re never gonna say that again, right? And you’re never gonna think it again, right?

KT: Never.

Suze: There you go. All right, go on.

KT: All right, she wrote, Angel wrote, “Hello, most fabulous ladies. I think I remember you saying that we can buy and sell as much as we want in our Roth IRA and it has no bearing on any other accounts.

I worry there could be some buying or selling rules in the Roth with timelines that I don’t know about.”

Suze: How would you answer that, KT?

KT: I think that you’re absolutely right. There are no rules when it comes to buying and selling within your Roth.

Suze: Yeah, listen, everybody, the reason that I want you all to have Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, Roth 403(b)s, Roth TSPs, Roth SEP IRAs, Roth, Roth, Roth, Roth, everything is there are no taxes when you buy or sell, following a few simple rules.

Meaning that the Roth has been open for at least five years and you’re 59 and a half years of age. When you withdraw any amount of money, it is absolutely tax-free. You die, pass it down to your beneficiaries, and they take it out absolutely tax-free.

So I think if you don’t understand them, my favorite podcast that I have ever done as to why I want you to have a Roth, regardless of how much income you have, is “Don’t Be Partners With Uncle Sam,” April 21st, 2024. Listen to that podcast over and over again, and if you still decide that you don’t wanna do a Roth, I don’t know what to tell you. I just don’t. All right, go on.

KT: The next question is from Sharon, Suze. She said, “Hi, Suze.

Regarding the divorced two-year requirement to file a claim on your ex-spouse. If I’ve been married twice—she’s wondering like what to do. She said both lasted 10 years and divorced twice.

Am I able to collect divorced spouse benefits from ex-spouse one if I’ve been divorced from ex-spouse one for more than two years, even if I have only been single for one year after divorcing ex-spouse two?”

So that’s what she’s asking. What are the requirements to file a claim?

Suze: So first of all, everybody, there’s spousal requirements and then there’s survivor requirements, which means your spouse has died. So she’s asking about spousal requirements.

To collect on your ex-spouse’s Social Security, you have to be 62 years of age or older. That’s number one. Number two, you have to have been married for 10 years, divorced for two years, which she may be. I don’t know. She doesn’t say her age, but let’s say she’s 62 or older. She meets the qualification for getting ex-spouse number one’s Social Security, some of it, all right.

However, ex-spouse number two, even though she’s only been divorced one year, doesn’t disqualify her from claiming on spouse one.

So the answer to the question is, as long as you’re 62 years of age or older and you have not remarried, yes, you can claim on ex-spouse one.

KT: So I have a question. What if ex-spouse two has greater benefits than one? Can you switch?

Suze: After she has been divorced from ex-spouse two for two years, if she wants, she can switch if it’s higher than ex-spouse one, believe it or not, as long as she’s 62 years of age or older and she has not remarried.

Very different, KT, than if the ex-spouse even had died. Then she could go from spousal benefits to survivor benefits and then claim survivor benefits, even if she gets remarried at 60 or older.

KT: And you can keep that even if you’re remarried. You can keep survivor benefits from your…

Suze: Yes. Once she’s been divorced and the divorced spouse dies, she has the ability to switch to survivor benefits. Let’s say she was full retirement age. She could then get full retirement benefits from her ex-spouse, but now they’re ex-survivor benefits.

KT: Amazing.

Suze: Amazing. And for the spousal benefits, just so you know, they don’t have to have claimed yet for her to get those.

KT: Huh.

Suze: Huh, what was that, huh?

KT: Well, that’s interesting. I mean, who knew?

Suze: I did.

KT: I didn’t know that. I thought a lot of people listening that are divorced didn’t know that. That’s like a surprise.

Suze: You would only get the higher of your own benefit or your ex-spouse number one benefit or your ex-spouse two benefit. You get the higher of them if, in fact, you’ve met the qualification.

So she just has to wait another year and she could switch to ex-spouse two if it’s higher, or the spousal benefit. Go on.

KT: All right, keep track of those benefits, everybody.

Suze: But you gotta be married 10 years.

KT: All right, this is from Deborah. She said, “Hi, Suze and KT. Thank you both for providing such important education for the women of America, as well, of course, for those smart enough to listen.

You mentioned in the first Suze School of the year that the Roth contributions for 2025 tax calculations can be made as late as April 15th, 2026, correct?

If I want to contribute before April 15th for my 2026 tax calculations, do I need to do anything special to tag these contributions to alert the IRS, or will it all just come out in the wash over time?”

Suze: No, because really, if you haven’t made your contribution for 2025 yet and you want to, and you wanna make a 2026 contribution as well the same day—January 1st of this year, let’s say you wanted to do both the same day—you have to tag what year it is for.

It doesn’t all come out in the wash because, again, you have to meet the five-year rule. And if this is your first time opening up a Roth IRA, you have to let them know. When you open it up, they ask you and you just tell them, all right.

KT: All right. Next is from Mary. She said, “I asked my employer about allowing post-tax contributions up to the 415(c) limit. Their response was the last time they reviewed it, they did not think they would pass the nondiscrimination testing.

Can you explain that response, and is it reasonable?”

Suze: It is reasonable, KT, and the reason is this.

All corporations have to meet certain qualifications, which really, to put it simply without me getting complicated, means that your highly compensated employees, known as HCEs, do not have more of an advantage than your non-highly compensated employees, known as your NHCEs.

Therefore, if your lower wage employees are not fully contributing to the employer plan—the 401(k) or the 403(b)—then the highly compensated employees cannot put in more than what everybody is allowed to put in. So that would be whatever the maximum happens to be, but above that they won’t allow after-tax contributions.

Yes, it’s reasonable so that it’s possible that when you go to speak to your employer, if they allow after-tax contributions, they may say no because it may provide discrimination against the lower-paid employees, believe it or not.

That’s a simple explanation of it, but that is the rule. All right.

KT: OK, Suze, next question.

Suze: Should this be your quizzie?

KT: No quizzies in 2026.

Everybody loves when you do a quizzie.

No more quizzies.

Suze: And why is that?

KT: Because I’m busy studying Roth, so no quizzies. I’m busy studying my…

Suze: You are afraid to be wrong. Admit it to everybody.

KT: Yeah, I don’t like to be wrong.

Suze: That’s why we do the quizzies.

KT: No more quizzies, everybody. They’re gone.

Suze: I am going to give her a quizzie whether she knows it or not.

KT: So from Nancy. Nancy, Nancy said, “I am 59 years old and had to stop working to be a caretaker for my elderly mother, so I did not have any W-2 income in 2025.

My husband has a 401(k) at his job, but he does not have a Roth. Can he fund my Roth IRA while I’m unemployed?”

Suze: Pop quizzie?

KT: No.

Suze: Seriously?

KT: Yeah, he can’t fund it.

Suze: (Suze makes the wrong answer sound.)

KT: Oh, come on. Don’t do that to me. I thought all retirement accounts, especially the Roth, have to be funded with earned income.

Suze: All right, ready to learn something new.

KT: It’s her husband’s earned income?

Suze: Yea.

KT: And it’s allowed. OK, so you have to fund all mine.

Suze: KT, anyway, here’s the thing.

There’s something known as a non-working spousal retirement account, and your spouse can not only fund their own 401(k) or a Roth 401(k) if they have one, their own Roth IRA, and if they make too much money, their own backdoor Roth IRA if they don’t have a traditional IRA, but they can also fund the non-working spouse’s retirement account.

Now officially it’s not named a non-working spousal account, but yes, your spouse can fund it not only for themselves but for the spouse as well.

KT: Suze, my final question is from Lynn, and it’s a Roth question. I’m learning about you, but don’t ask me to answer it. Don’t ask me to answer it.

Suze: But I know why you chose it.

KT: Because of Lynn. All right, my sister, my twin sister’s name.

“Hi, Suze and KT. I’m 65 years old and still working because I love my job. I love my job too.

I’m contributing to a Roth 401(k) so I can leave it to my children one day. Unfortunately, most of my retirement savings are in traditional IRAs and 401(k)s.

My goal is to continue contributing to the company Roth 401(k) and Roth 457(b) to the max until I scale back when I turn 70 or so.

What are the rules about inheriting Roth 401(k)s to non-spousal beneficiaries? I find it hard to get a clear answer, as the sites always say they have to take it in 10 years and it may affect their tax bracket. Is this true for Roth 401(k) inheritances?”

Suze: So here’s the scoop.

Yes, it’s true partially. Whether it is a Roth, KT, or a traditional retirement account, whether it’s an IRA, it doesn’t matter. If it’s not left to a spouse or an eligible designated beneficiary, which I’ve explained many times, but normally if it’s left to a child and they’re more than 10 years younger than you, which I’m sure they are, for the beneficiary, they have to wipe the account clean within 10 years.

The difference between a traditional retirement account is they should start wiping it clean yearly because otherwise in the 10th year they’re gonna have to wipe it all out. And if they’ve never touched it, it could be a serious tax hit for them because it will be taxed to them as ordinary income.

In a Roth, however, I wouldn’t touch it if I didn’t have to and let it grow for all those 10 years, and in the 10th year then wipe it clean, but it’s now tax-free to them. Just that simple.

Whoever said that it’s gonna be taxable, they’re just saying that because they wanna be careful. Did you meet the five-year rule? Did you not yet? Whether it’s a Roth 401(k) or a Roth IRA, it still has to meet the five-year rule. However, you die, it’s met the five-year rule, they have 10 years to wipe it clean, and it will be 100% tax-free to them. All right.

What do you want to say?

KT: When you have that 10 years, you can take any amount in any year as long as it’s wiped clean within 10 years.

Suze: That’s right. Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding.

KT: I’m learning. I’m learning. You’re never too late to learn, everybody.

Suze: So what are we gonna do today?

KT: Today is our—I’m excited—we have an appointment this afternoon with our web developers. We have a new website being launched at any moment, and I have to make approvals on everything.

I’m excited. It works great on your phone. It’s simple. It’s easy to get updated information, and we’ve been developing this now for quite a long time.

Suze: When she says we…

KT: The team.

Suze: Not me.

For some reason, everybody, I just don’t take an interest in graphics and data. That’s KT’s forte, so I stay out of it. Right. And so until Sunday.

KT: What are you gonna do Sunday? What are you gonna talk about?

Suze: I may talk about the market again, but what a K market is, a U-shaped market, a V shape. I’m gonna talk to them, I think, about the alphabet letters of the stock market. What do you think of that?

KT: Like the I’s?

Suze: No, the K’s.

KT: What about the KTs?

Suze: KTs always in the market if you ask me. Anyway, everybody…

KT: Have a great, great, great week ahead. See you Sunday. There’s only one thing we want you to remember, everybody, and it’s this:

Suze: People first.

KT: Then money.

Suze: Then things. Now you stay safe. Bye-bye, everybody.