Suze Orman: 5 Best Retirement Tips To Avoid Financial Ruin
Written by
Jennifer Taylor
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Cory Dudak
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Whether you’re newly retired or have been out of the workforce for awhile, Suze Orman’s advice to maintain healthy finances in retirement can be useful. Giving your financial situation a look from her prospective can allow you to consider aspects that might’ve slipped your mind.
Keep reading to learn Orman’s top five tips to help retirees avoid falling into financial disaster.
Reduce Spending
If you’re like most people, your household income sharply declined when you retired. This makes adjusting your spending habits imperative so you don’t run out of money.
On her blog, Orman suggested a variety of ways to accomplish this, including downsizing, becoming a one-car household and taking any adult children you’re still supporting off the payroll. This will reduce the cost of supporting yourself in retirement and can also help increase your emergency savings, she said.
Plan for Uncertainty
You can’t predict the future, so you need to be financially prepared for curveballs that might come your way. For example, you might plan to work a bit in retirement to earn extra cash.
However, in a separate blog post, Orman cited the 2025 Employee Benefit Institute’s Retirement Confidence Survey to prove things might not go as planned. Specifically, the survey found that 75% of workers plan to work for pay in retirement, but only 29% have reported following through.
Consequently, she urged people to incorporate uncertainty into later-stage retirement planning so you’re covered if things don’t go as you envisioned.
Keep Your Guard Up for Scammers
From 2020 to 2024, the number of older adults who lost $10,000 or more to scammers increased more than fourfold, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Orman addressed this issue on her blog, highlighting behaviors that make people an easy target for financial fraud. These include immediately believing anyone who contacts you claiming there’s an issue with a bank account, checking your accounts with contact information given by someone who contacts you (always use the bank’s official website or phone number), automatically trusting someone who says they’re from the FTC (it’s a common scam), and failing to add your number to The National Do Not Call Registry.
Stay Informed on Medicare Costs
Most retirees are no longer covered by an employer-sponsored health plan, meaning there’s a good chance you rely on Medicare. Out-of-pocket costs change each year, so Orman urged retirees to pay attention to these increases.
For example, the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees is $185 in 2025, marking a $10.30 per month increase from 2024 (or $123.60 per year).
Being aware of exactly how much you’re paying for healthcare can allow you to adjust your spending as needed, or even determine that you’ll need to get a job in retirement.
Plan for Rent Increases
On her blog, Orman noted that renting can be a smart choice for seniors. However, she warned retirees to take inflation into account if thinking about selling their home and becoming renters.
The rent you pay today will likely increase every time your lease is renewed. Specifically, she noted the average rent increase is around 4% per year, but warned it has been higher lately.
Orman gave the example that $1,000 per month in rent today could be $1,220 per month in five years, and $1,800 per month in 15 years. To manage this, she advised opting for a rent that gives you room to reasonably fit future rent increases into your budget.
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