Suze Orman explains why this $1.6 million retirement plan would backfire, and how to avoid the trap

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Suze Orman was as candid as ever when Gina, a 56-year-old retiree, called into her Women & Money podcast (1).

Orman was quick to shoot down Gina’s plan, which involved converting a $1.6 million pretax 401(k) into a Roth 401(k), and finally into a Roth IRA.

Orman was shocked after learning her caller had received this financial advice from her company’s former benefits department. She retorted, “With the utmost of respect to your benefits person — are you crazy? Really?”

Orman went on to explain that converting a pretax 401(k) to any Roth account would trigger a taxable event, as you’re moving funds from a tax-deferred account to a tax-free one.

Shuffling accounts, as it turns out, isn’t the tax loophole Gina thought it to be.

A retirement strategy can be tough to flesh out.

For starters, the American system is notoriously convoluted and clunky. The Tax Policy Center says the system grows even more complicated every year (2). In 2025, President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act added a significant number of new tax provisions, which can make planning your future more challenging.

Beyond a complex tax system, Orman says there’s another big problem for Americans — especially women.

In an interview with MSNBC, Orman said women over 50 tend to avoid dealing with money and later-life planning, while they focus on their families instead (3).

According to Orman, “Women still give more to others than we give to ourselves and that is a really big mistake.”

Read More: Approaching retirement with no savings? Don’t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)

The reality is, taking care of your own finances can be a great gift to the loved ones in your life, too.

Services like Advisor.com can provide reliable and trustworthy retirement planning guidance. Trained financial professionals can help you carve out a retirement plan that best aligns with your future goals.

How it works is simple: Just input your ZIP code and answer just a few questions about yourself, then Advisor.com will match you with the best options from their curated list of financial professionals. From here, you can book a free, no-obligation consultation to make sure they’re the right fit for your financial goals.

Once you have your plan in place, Orman advocates for long-term wealth generation.

She frequently emphasizes that saving early can reduce your tax burden and allow for compounding growth, fostering better financial security for you and your family down the road.

She’s an especially big fan of Roth IRAs and their tax-free withdrawal benefits. She went so far as to say, “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,” in her 2026 retirement planning podcast episode (4).

Largely, that’s because these accounts can help you avoid a nasty tax torpedo effect on your Social Security benefits in retirement.

It’s not just about choosing the right account mix for your retirement. A well-rounded retirement strategy includes careful investment choices within those accounts, no matter what they are.

For instance, if you’re nearing retirement age and optimizing for a more stable portfolio, you might consider less volatile investments for your portfolio.

Gold is typically less volatile than stocks during economic downturns and recessions — and the precious metal has increased in value by about 70% over the last year alone as of early January (5). Over the past two decades, gold prices are up more than 700%.

One reason to invest in precious metals like gold is that they can provide significant tax advantages. This can be especially important for retirement planning.

Opening a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold means you’re working with an industry leader in precious metals, offering physical delivery of gold and silver.

If you’d like to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, Priority Gold offers 100% free rollover, as well as free shipping, and free storage for up to five years. Qualifying purchases can also receive up to $10,000 in free silver. Just keep in mind that gold is often best used as just one part of a well-diversified portfolio.

You might also consider leveraging additional asset classes for a resilient, long-term portfolio.

Real estate can be a strong way to diversify your investments while benefiting from tax-free growth and consistent retirement income — so long as you plan correctly.

For instance, when you invest in real estate directly rather than through investing in shares of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), you can get direct tax benefits.

When you own real estate, if you receive a dividend from your investment, you don’t lose a portion of it to taxes. What’s more, you can often deduct any depreciation of the property to reduce your taxable income.

When you invest in real estate with Mogul, you can benefit from those tax advantages by owning vetted properties — without having to manage the admin of renting them out.

Mogul is a real estate investment platform offering fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, which gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits. The best part is that you won’t need to fork out a hefty down payment or pick up any 3 a.m. calls from tenants. Mogul handles it all for you.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the team hand-picks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide on your behalf. Simply put, you get institutional quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.

Each property undergoes a vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform has an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10 to 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments usually ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.

A further way to diversify with real estate is through a checkbook IRA.

With Arrived, you can invest in real estate through a self-directed checkbook IRA, meaning you could benefit from tax-exempt investments.

Arrived makes it easy to fit rental or vacation properties into your investment portfolio, regardless of your income. Simply browse their curated selection of homes, and once you find a property you like, choose the number of shares you want to buy.

Arrived also offers a Private Credit Fund made up of short-term loans which finance professional real estate projects. These projects can include anything from renovations to new builds.

As an investor, you can invest in the fund, and then earn monthly interest payments on these loans. The fund has historically yielded an 8.1% annualized dividend.

Whatever you choose, it’s important to remember that planning for retirement can be very challenging to do alone. Finding the right, qualified support is key to feeling confident in the investments you ultimately make for your best financial future.

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

Suze Orman’s Women & Money podcast (1, 4); Tax Policy Center (2); MSNBC (3); Gold Price (5)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.