Podcast Episode - Suze School: Serious Things To Think About

Suze starts by asking us to think about the power of our words, specifically “can” and “can’t.” Then, Suze tells us what we need to think about, with regards to Social Security and how we can best secure our financial future.

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Podcast Transcript:

November 24th, 2024. Welcome everybody to the Women and Money podcast as well as everybody smart enough to listen, Suze O, here and today is Suze School. So make sure you get out your notebooks along with either that or pen and paper, whatever it is because there are some numbers here that I am going to give you that you might just want to contemplate when I give them to you.

What does that mean, Suze Orman? I don't know, but it kind of sounded good at the second. Anyway, I love talking to myself so much so that this morning when KT brought me a cup of coffee into my little studio, she was saying to me, what are you mumbling about?

And she said, who are you talking to? And I said me, she said, why are you talking to yourself? And I said, I'm trying to figure something out, KT.

And she said, what are you doing, Suze Orman? I said, I've been reading emails and so many times within an email, I'm finding that all of you, some of you whoever's writing in somewhere in that email, you use the word can't, I can't do this. We can't have that. We can't afford this. We can't, C-A-N-T, we can't.

And she said so...

And I said, we gotta change that. KT we've got to change. Can't, I can't, to: I can. And she said, and how do you expect to do that by talking to yourself? And I said, no, I want people to understand truthfully when they say the word can't what it means.

What does it mean? Suze? And I said, when you say the word can't, cant that stands for creating a negative thought.

Think about that everybody right now, when you say the word can't, you have created a negative thought.

Then of course, in KT's way, she said, so what is can mean? I said, well, that's what I was talking to myself about. She said, OK, just tell me. And I said, can, can is one word that can cancel all negativity. And she said, well, you better open up your podcast with that when you still remember it. So here I am.

But actually what I just did there is so important. I really believe that words, your thoughts, your actions, but mainly your words, I have to tell you that they have the power to create or the power to destroy. And the choice is up to you when you speak negative words, when you think negative words or thoughts that negativity is within you keeping you from doing that, which you wanna do or you're able to do but you just use the wrong words.

So I'm asking all of you as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, I ask all of you every time you say the word can't in any sentence. Now, I can't come at 6:30 I can't do this. I can't do that.

Creating a negative thought. You don't want negativity in you at this point in time or ever for that matter, just change it to the word can.

Rather than saying I can't come at 6:30. Why don't you just say I can come at six or seven. Which do you prefer?

You don't have to use the word. Can't change it to can in every answer and everything that you say.

All right, thats a Suze School for today. Not. Just joking.

Now, the other thing that I've noticed the word can't with a lot, which is really how this all came up, is that the people who are on Social Security because, you know, the Women and Money podcast has a lot of men and women who are on Social Security and very afraid that something's going to happen to Social Security, but they're really afraid. Not so much for them, although they're a little faked for them, but for their children.

Suze, my kids aren't doing that well. My kids are a lot older. I have a 50 year old who actually still lives with me. Suze, I don't have anything to leave to him and all he's planning on is social security. Do you think it will be there when he becomes 67 in 17 years from now, do you Suze?

And the answer to that question is yes. I think it is going to still be here. Not just in another 17 years, but really for a long, long time. I don't want you to worry if you're currently on Social Security. I don't want you to worry if you're 10 years away from it, 20 years away from it, whatever it may be, Social Security in some form will be here.

What do I mean by some form? It is possible that they'll figure out a new formula for those who are younger right now and won't start collecting Social Security for 20 or 30 years or whatever it may be where the benefit is figured differently. So it's not as high as it would have been if nothing changed.

Is it possible that rather than collecting full Social Security at 67 maybe full Social Security, the full retirement age will be 70.

Is it possible that maybe they'll find new ways to invest that money and make more money so that there's actually enough money in Social Security and none of these things have to happen and it's no longer a worry, but no matter and I've said this before, no matter what happens, you always have to be prepared.

Now, I am not here to be a fear monger to put down any policies or anything that's going on. But I am shocked by the fact that in just a month or so, it's going to be 2025. And the reason that that shocks me is I remember for the past 10 years, 20 years, even 30 years ago, it was projected that in 2035, 2033 Social Security would probably run out of money and all the benefits would have to be reduced by some percentage.

And I remember in 2010 thinking of course, they're gonna solve it. Now. 2035 is just 10 years away. There are many people who say it will be 2033. So now we're talking about eight years away and that is nothing.

So therefore, what do I think we should do? Seriously? I could only hope and pray that the administration figures out a way to solve this crisis. But I want to see if I can just make a little sense to you right now, not to scare you, but just let's look at this really realistically speaking, which is the reason that Social Security is having such a hard time is that we have more people receiving Social Security benefits than people generating the income to pay the taxes to pay for the Social Security benefits.

What concerns me is artificial intelligence, everybody.

And I talked about this before. I said I don't think it's impossible that by 2030 or so we could have a really high unemployment rate.

And the reason that I said that about 10 years ago now is that you have all of this artificial intelligence doing things much faster, quicker, better, really, in some cases than human beings. Machines, robots, artificial intelligence on computers, they don't get sick, they don't need health benefits. They don't need a whole lot of things. They don't need to be replaced on a sick day because there is no sick days. They don't argue about, they're not going to come into the office. They like working at home.

It's a serious problem on some level. And I think about way back when, when I lived in San Francisco and I would go across the bridge either to the Bay area or back to San Francisco, whatever it was. There was a person in a toll booth that took your 50 cents, then tolls went up and they took your dollar. And now even 15 years ago you went through and there wasn't one person there really, they're all there with little things that are automated and everything either goes on your license plate or whatever it is.

You can see it coming. My main concern about that, everybody, is this:

If artificial intelligence and I don't know if it's going to or not. If artificial intelligence gets to the place where everything is changed, people are replaced, the workforce continues to decrease in size because they're just not needed anymore. That means less people paying into the tax system, which means that the Social Security Trust Fund doesn't even have as much money as it has to day coming into it. So, could that 2035 day be moved up? I don't know.

But these are serious things that we need to think about. Now, before I did this podcast, I have to tell you honestly, I'm like, oh, Suze... Thanksgiving is coming up and then there's Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, all these holidays. You don't want to be a downer.

And then I thought I'm not being a downer. This is also when KT kind of came in, right? I'm not being a downer. I'm being realistic, and I always think you have to have a plan. I think it's important that all of us start to count on ourselves.

If you're figuring out your future and part of your future retirement plan is I'm going to get this much money in social security. My spouse is going to get this much money in social security and that is part of your retirement formula.

I would like you to see if you can make it work for yourself without including Social Security now. Fine. Maybe that's too drastic for you. But I sure would like to see if you could do that. If you feel like, no, I don't wanna do that, then I would suggest to you that whatever your Social Security benefit is going to be according to projections, reduce it by half. Just see if you can make your life work with a reduction of Social Security when planning your retirement future and income. That's number one.

Number two, recently, there's been some important changes for 2025 that are coming to 401k plans that will affect part time workers. Specifically, part time employees will need to work at least 500 hours per year for two consecutive years to become eligible for the 401k plan or 403 B or TSP whatever it may be.

So, lets say you don't have a career right now and you only do part time work because you maybe have to stay at home and take care of the kids or whatever. Please remember what I just said to you because a 401k especially a Roth 401k is going to be essential the same way a Roth IRA is going to be essential to be able to supplement your income as you get older, especially if something happens to social security. What if you want to start saving more and more for retirement? I just scared you, you decided after this podcast, you're gonna make saving money your number one priority and you need to know that for 2025 the contribution limits have absolutely gone up.

So write these down for a 401k or 403 B or 457 plan. You can now for a standard contribution, individual contribute up to $23,500 you can do that. The catch-up contribution, you know, when you're 50 or over, they allow you to put in money that's gonna stay at $7500. It is unchanged from 2024. All right. However, listen closely, there is a new catch-up contribution limit now, for those people who are only age 60 to 63 only 60 to 63 that, that catch-up amount is now $11,250. Big difference. So the truth of the matter is that your total contribution limit now between the employee, the employer and everything is up to 70 thou. It's a lot.

So just know that because there's a lot of you between the ages of 60, 63 that work for an employer and you should take advantage of it, especially if you're in a Roth 401k 403 B or 457 plan.

Do you hear me? Let's talk about IRA contributions that includes whether it's a Roth IRA or a traditional pre-taxed, IRA. The standard contribution for 2025 it's gonna be the same as it was in 2024 $7000 a year.

The catch-up contribution limit for age 50 over is still $1000. So that's unchanged from 2024. What is changed is the M A G I limits to qualify for a contributory Roth IRA. So the Roth IRA phase out range for a single person is now 100 and 50,000 M A G I to 165,000 M A G I - modified adjusted gross income. That's a nice five or $6000 raise there. And for married, filing jointly, it's $236,000 phases out after 246,000. So that's great. Now, I know these numbers probably have just driven you crazy.

But there's a point to why I'm doing this number one, this allows you and do you see the trend that's happening here? The trend that's happening here is that they're increasing these amounts because they want you to save more and more. They want you to save more and more so that you're able to take care of yourselves really? And don't you want that for yourself?

Everything that I said to you today was not to scare you, but it was to propel you into action, to propel you into saying I can do this to propel you to stop thinking that you can't and to really know that your future security is in your hands.

So until Thursday, aren't you glad you turned into this one? Everybody anyway, until Thursday, when Miss Travis and I will be here for our Thanksgiving podcast.

If you can just remember people first. And when I say people, I mean, you, I don't mean other people I mean, you people first then money, then things and if you could do it in that priority, I promise you you can be unstoppable.