Most retirement plans assume a continuous career and predictable income. Suze Orman does not build her advice around that assumption.
In a post on her website, Orman named two moves for 2027 and three situations she says derail savings plans for workers who count on more time than they end up getting.
The first move is raising your 401(k) contribution rate by one or two percentage points before the year begins. The second is maxing out a Roth IRA if you are eligible.
Orman said the situations that derail retirement savings plans can take many by surprise. All three tend to arrive during the years when workers still have the most room to compound their savings.
She described the ability to save aggressively during full employment as a window that closes faster than people expect. Her two moves aim to take advantage of that window while it’s open.
Caregiving, kids, career disruptions can change the retirement math
Family caregivers spend more than $7,200 a year of their own money on out-of-pocket caregiving costs, according to AARP research. That figure covers direct expenses such as transportation, medical supplies, and home care.
Many caregivers also reduce their hours or stop working entirely during the care period. The drop in earned income cuts into what is available for retirement savings at the same time out-of-pocket costs are rising.
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Orman is also direct about supporting adult children. “I will never condone helping an adult child if it puts your retirement at risk,” she wrote. When parents redirect retirement contributions to cover a child’s expenses, the missed contributions mean years of lost compounding that they can’t ever get back.
In addition, an assumed career trajectory may not go as planned. Orman wrote that keeping a job well into your 60s was never guaranteed. Sudden job loss, industry changes, or illness have all ended careers before workers expected.
A worker who planned to retire at 67 but left the workforce at 55 faces 12 years of costs with no wage income to cover them. Workers with more savings at that point have more options.
These three situations can arrive at any point in a career. Workers who build a larger savings balance before they hit those situations have more financial flexibility during and after.
Those who deferred the extra saving tend to have fewer options at that point. Building that balance requires years of consistent contributions. That is why Orman is pushing for action before 2027 begins.
What a 1 or 2 percentage-point bump in your 401(k) actually does
A 1% or 2% increase in your contribution rate is a small change in any single paycheck. Most workers notice very little difference in take-home pay from a 1-point increase.
Contributions started at 30 have roughly 35 years to compound before a standard retirement age. The same contributions begun at 45 have about 20 years. Starting earlier produces a substantially larger final balance.
Orman is pushing for the increase before 2027, not sometime during the year. Each month of delay is compounding that does not happen on those extra contributions. A change made in January gets the full 12-month benefit for 2027. A change made in July gets six months.
Check whether your employer plan offers automatic annual escalation. That feature raises your contribution rate by a set percentage each year without any further action on your part. If your plan has it, turn it on when you make this change. The rate will continue increasing going forward on its own.
Plans without automatic escalation require a manual update each year. Log into the benefits portal and raise the rate before the first payroll cycle of 2027. That update takes a few minutes. Mark your calendar now so the adjustment does not get delayed.
Orman is direct about supporting adult children. “I will never condone helping an adult child if it puts your retirement at risk,” she wrote.Inside Creative House / Getty Images
Why the Roth IRA earns its own place in this plan
A Roth IRA differs from a traditional retirement account in how contributions and withdrawals are taxed. Contributions come from money you have already paid tax on. Qualified withdrawals in retirement are generally tax-free. You owe no income tax on that money when you take it out.
The 2026 contribution limit is $7,500 for savers under 50. Those 50 and older can contribute up to $8,600. The IRS has not yet released the 2027 limits. These figures cover total annual contributions across all IRAs you hold, not per account.
Not everyone qualifies to contribute directly to a Roth IRA. The IRS sets income limits based on filing status.
Use your 2025 adjusted gross income to check whether you are within the eligible range. Single filers and married filers face different thresholds. The IRS updates those limits annually.
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Think about what a tax-free account means during a caregiving period or a year with no wage income. Roth withdrawals do not count toward your taxable income. Withdrawals from a traditional IRA or 401(k) do.
In a low-income year, that tax difference matters. Early retirees, in particular, benefit from having at least one tax-free account available.
What to do before January 2027
Log into your employer’s benefits portal before the first payroll cycle of 2027. Raise your 401(k) contribution rate by one or two percentage points. While you are there, check whether the plan offers automatic annual escalation and turn it on. That feature raises the rate each year automatically.
For the Roth IRA, pull up your 2025 adjusted gross income first. That number tells you whether you qualify to contribute directly. The deadline to fund your 2026 Roth IRA is April 15, 2027. The annual limit is $7,500 for savers under 50 and $8,600 for those 50 and older. Contributions for 2026 are allowed through that filing deadline.
Set up automatic monthly contributions for 2027 while you are still in the account. That removes the annual funding decision. Both the 401(k) change and the Roth setup take under an hour total. Get both done before December ends.
Related: Suze Orman has a serious retirement warning for 2027