Classic Suze School: The Right Pension Option
episode
Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)
25 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 1 day ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the goal of money and why is an emergency savings account essential?
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 Align Credit Union. Go to my iAliant.com to find out more and be secure.
September seventeenth, twenty twenty six, welcome to the Women in Money Podcast, as well as everyone smart enough to listen. Hi there, Robert the producer here. Over this past weekend, I was at a baseball game and I struck up a conversation with the folks sitting next to me, and one of them mentioned that he was going to retire soon and was looking forward to being able to see more Red Sox games. And his son said, Well, Dad, you need to figure your pension thing out first. We'll use that as a bit of inspiration for today's classic Suzy School, which is all about selecting the right pension option.
Enjoy. Now, Katie mentioned that she loves teachers. And there are so, so many teachers out there. And today, one of the occupations that still get a pension when they retire happens to be teachers. Maybe you remember years and years ago when you worked for a corporate. After 20 or 30 years of working for them, and then you retired, they gave you a monthly pension. And that pension was a fabulous thing to have. And then that really was replaced by 401k plans. And so therefore. many people out there don't have pensions anymore, 'cause all you have are your four or one Ks. However, many of you still Do. When you do get a pension like most teachers do. you have options for that pension. And the options are called joint and survivor benefits.
And what that means, get out your susie notebook. Cause maybe you don't get a pension, but maybe one day your kid will, or your mother will, or your father, or whatever it may be, or just a friend and they need advice.
How do joint and survivor pension options differ from a life‑only pension?
So take out your Susie notebooks, because this is really a good Susie school just for all of you to know. All right. When you get a pension, they give you options as to how do you want to take that pension. And what that means isn't how do you want to take it, weekly, bi-weekly, whatever. It means do you want to get your full pension amount, which means you will get X per month, but if you die, it's called a life only, if you die, your spouse will get absolutely nothing. Or do you want to take a hundred percent joint and survivor option? Where whatever you get upon your death, your spouse will get 100% of whatever you were getting. And there's all different kinds of percentages. You can get 100% joint and survivor benefit.
Which again is where your spouse gets a hundred percent of what you're getting. 75% joint and survivor benefit, which means your spouse would get only 75% of what you were getting. 50% joint and survivor benefit, which means your spouse would get only 50% of what you were getting, and 25%, which means your spouse would only get 25% of what you were getting. And Obviously. In order to leave your spouse money after you have died, that's like an insurance policy. So, what happens is whatever you are entitled to for your full pension, your life-only pension, they will pay you that every month. And again, if you die, your spouse gets nothing. They reduce the amount of money that would be the life-only option.
Depending on do you choose the 100%, 75%, 50%, or 25% joint and survivor option? That's how it works. Now, obviously, if you are not married, you want to take the life-only option. Because remember, joint and survivor benefits are only for those who are married. And I will now read you the email that spurred this Susie School um. Hello, Susie and KT. Thank you both for everything you do. This question is about choosing or not choosing a joint and survivor option for my spouse when retiring. I am looking to retire next July 1st at age 66, and my wife is currently retired at age 67. Can you write these numbers down? Cause this is how you also think about social security and other things in life.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the goal of money and why is an emergency savings account essential?
0:00–2:48
2
How do joint and survivor pension options differ from a life‑only pension?
2:48–6:08
3
What percentages (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%) mean for a spouse’s survivor benefit?
6:08–8:45
4
Why does choosing a 100% joint‑and‑survivor option act like an insurance policy?
8:45–11:45
5
How can a “pop‑up” option protect a spouse if the retiree dies early?
11:45–14:42
6
What are the risks of relying only on a life‑only pension and Social Security?
14:42–17:33
7
How do home equity, IRA taxes, and required minimum distributions affect retirement planning?
17:33–19:56
8
Why does Suze recommend always taking the 100% joint‑and‑survivor pension option?
19:56–25:29