Kiki is 43 and single, and has been telling herself she'll retire at 58 for as long as she can remember. She doesn't have a clear picture of what retirement will look like — but as she told Suze Orman, she does have $410,000 in total assets, no mortgage, no consumer debt and a monthly surplus after expenses. By most measures, she's doing well.
Yet Orman graded her an F. Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028.
Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes The problem, Orman explained on her show, isn't what Kiki has. It's what she's about to lose. Kiki works and lives on a college campus, where her employer covers roughly $1,100 per month in rent, plus cable and electricity.
"You have absolutely no expenses whatsoever," Orman told her. But the moment she retires, those benefits disappear — and her monthly costs, currently just $2,145, could balloon to $4,000 or $5,000 per month once she's paying for housing, health insurance and long-term care insurance herself. Orman walked through the numbers precisely.
If Kiki continues on her current path and retires at 58, she would have approximately $970,000 in her 401(k) and $230,000 in a Roth IRA — roughly $1.2 million total. That sounds substantial, but the 401(k) withdrawals are taxable, and Social Security won't kick in until later. After accounting for taxes, Orman notes that $1.2 million would generate approximately $2,966 per month in after-tax income.
Against $5,000 in monthly expenses, that's a $2,000-per-month shortfall, which adds up fast. Kiki's situation illustrates something most workers never calculate: the dollar value of what their employer pays on their behalf. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employer costs for civilian workers averaged $49.32 per hour worked, with $33.72 going to wages and salaries and $15.60 covering benefits.
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