Podcast Episode - Can I Retire Next Year?

On this Ask Suze & KT Anything episode, KT asks Suze your questions about trusts, the right investment options, giving money to children and so much more.

Listen to Podcast Episode:

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Podcast Transcript:

Suze: October 26, 2025. Welcome to the Women and Money podcast vacation edition. It's the vacation edition because KT and I are on vacation right now as you're listening, in Italy. We have four days...

KT: Painting and eating...

Suze: ...left before we're back, and that's what we're assuming we're doing anyway. So we're doing another Ask KT and Suze Anything—Sunday.

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.

KT: It's lonely.

Suze: And not besides the fact that it's lonely—but not so lonely...

KT: It's lonely.

Suze: 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 Suze Schools and everything, but honestly, everybody, I don't have many Suze Schools left in me. Only because, with 700 podcasts, 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 them coming in...

KT: We try so hard to answer all of you. We really want to answer all of you.

Suze: So just know that may be happening.

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

Suze: And the way you'll really know that, by the way, is if you go to youtube.com/SuzeOrman, 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.

KT: Thousands of people listen to that.

Suze: 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. 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. But anyway, go there and subscribe so you’ll know when I do something, especially when it's live.

KT: So my first question is from Bernadette. She said, Suze, 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.

Suze: I know I read this one and answered.

KT: Oh well, tell everyone listening what to do. I'm sure there's a lot of people in that same situation.

Suze: 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. 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.

KT: But then what happens with the joint trust?

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

KT: OK, that sounds easy, but it's still a little scary. So Rachel—Rachel’s asking about VOO.

Suze: You know what scares you about that?

KT: What?

Suze: Because you can never imagine us divorced.

KT: We have separate trusts, number one.

Suze: Yes, that’s one of the reasons, right? Just in case I was stupid enough to ever want to do something. 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.

KT: Never, um. Because you—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 Suze 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.

Suze: In KT’s name—like the island is all in KT’s name, an incredibly valuable asset, incredibly. I want to know that she's OK no matter what. All right.

KT: All right. Next, thank you, Suze.

Suze: You're welcome, KT. Oh KT, let me have the boat though. The boat’s in my name. That’s OK. No problem.

KT: Little boat. How many years old? Over 10. Like our—our car. The car is Suze’s car and she doesn't want to sell it. She loves that car. It's 12 years old.

Suze: No, it is not.

KT: How old is it?

Suze: 14.

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

Suze: I just can't—selling it and buying what?

KT: Gonna keep it.

KT: OK, next question is from Rachel. Hi KT and Suze. I love VOO as much as Suze, but I'm worried that the top 10 stocks now make up 38%.

Suze: Yes, that's why I like VOO.

KT: It seems I'm buying the S&P 10 rather than the S&P 500.

Suze: Yes.

KT: Suze, what do you recommend for us to keep diversified when we own mostly VOO?

Suze: The way things work today in the markets—it's very different than how it worked 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 SPY 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, I would actually, besides VOO, have you even more heavily 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 VOO, and then let's buy Nvidia, AMD, Palantir, IONQ, IBIT, and all of those.

So I'm actually even making it more heavily 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.

KT: Tell everyone what VOO means, what it stands for.

Suze: It's just the Vanguard Standard and Poor’s 500 ETF. Just that simple.

KT: 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, Suze, I really need to know more about Darlene. Are you ready?

She said, I will be 67 in April 2026. No mortgage, no debts, no car loan. I have an emergency fund, a 403(b), and a Roth IRA. I want to retire in May 2026. Can I do that?

Darlene gives us all this information, but never a dollar amount against it. All I know is she’s going to be 67.

Suze: So why did you pick it?

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

Suze: So here's the thing, everybody—KT’s 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 how it should read—“Hi Suze, I'll be 67 in April. I have 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(b) and a Roth IRA.” Well, how much do you have in them? “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, “I’m in good health and I have a long-term care insurance policy.”

KT: And you also want to know a little more about Darlene. Does she have dependents? Is she married? Is her spouse working or not working?

Suze: Well, the truth is I would just take this one, KT, and assume that she’s single with no dependents 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. All right.

KT: 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?

Liz says, Hi Suze 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, Suze, just so everyone knows, about having an emergency fund with SecureSave. Suze’s one of the founders of SecureSave, and it's a great program that she's established.

Suze: Actually, I just have to say something since you brought that up. So five years ago now, myself and two other people—Devin and Bassam—founded a company called SecureSave. And all of you could go to securesave.com/suze 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 $5, whatever it may be, and 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/suzeorman 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.

KT: Yeah, because Liz is one happy employee. She said not only, Suze, did you talk to her about an emergency fund with SecureSave, 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. I now have a Roth. I save biweekly in SecureSave, and I've purchased the must-have documents and so much more.”

Here is 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 Suze and KT Anything. Connor, age 30, doesn't want to use the documents—the must-have documents. These are, just so everyone knows, they’re distributed through Hay House. And he's telling me these companies use and/or sell people's personal information.

Suze: He's an idiot.

KT: His mom thinks so too, right? So he won’t do it. Unfortunately, he won’t listen to me on how important those documents are. And like you have said, it could be very costly elsewhere. But the most important thing that worries me is the fact that if he is incapacitated in some way, he should appoint someone to make decisions on his behalf. 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.”

Suze: 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 clue 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. 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 say...

Suze: Tell everyone how much the must-have documents are.

KT: 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 advanced 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 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.

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

Suze: Uniform Transfer to Minor's Account. It can also be a UGMA account—a Uniform Gift to Minor's Account.

KT: All right, so this is from Jean. She said, “Dear Suze and 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.”

Suze: Love that.

KT: And now Jean said, “I'm writing today to ask for some guidance regarding UTMA accounts for my daughters aged 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 $5,000 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 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?”

Suze: 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’d rather you do a 529 plan than a UTMA.

However, since Jean 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 a 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.

KT: Why can’t the uncle open the UTMA/529?

Suze: He would just open up—truthfully—a 529 regular plan. It would be ten 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, “Could 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, Jean’s going to transfer it to a UTMA/529 account. Just that simple. Good thinking, girlfriend.

Suze: Anyway, KT, that’s it. So there’s only one thing you want to tell people as we leave this podcast. What is it?

KT: There’s only three things we want you to remember...

Suze: Three?

KT: Not one—three—and it's this: people first, then money, then things.

Suze: Now you stay safe, secure, and healthy, and make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel. Go to youtube.com/SuzeOrman and be smart. All right, everybody.

KT: Arrivederci!

Suze: See you soon. Bye-bye.