She has worked 36 years as a nurse and has saved $828,000; now he wants to retire, but Suze Orman says no. He will need to keep working and move to Oregon.

After 36 years of nursing, Lisa was ready to trade scrubs for shelter pets.

The 57-year-old widow, who recently sold her home to cut expenses, hoped her $828,000 would be enough to retire and pursue a lifelong dream: working part-time with animals. she called Suze Orman’s YouTube program to ask for advice, and maybe a little validation. What he got was a good dose of Suze-esque reality.

Orman asked Lisa to rate her financial readiness. Lisa, hopeful but realistic, gave herself a B+. Suze gave it a C-minus.

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Lisa’s finances weren’t terrible. They actually looked solid on paper:

$311,000 in retirement accounts
$87,000 in emergency savings
$430,000 in investments
No mortgage, no consumer debt
Monthly pay of $3,000
Monthly expenses of $2,707

But Orman was quick to point out that while Lisa’s numbers add up now, they don’t account for what’s about to change. Leaving full-time employment means losing employer-provided health insurance. Taking on a part-time job, especially one with animals, can be fulfilling, but it won’t bring benefits.

That’s where Suze’s $4,000 per month benchmark came in. According to his math, Lisa’s assets would only safely generate about $2,000 a month after taxes. Add in a modest part-time income—about $20,000 a year or $1,250 a month—and Lisa still falls short of her goal of $750.

Lisa mentioned in her paperwork that she would consider moving to Oregon and possibly living with her sister to keep expenses down. Even then, Orman calculated a deficit of $165 a month.

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Suze Orman didn’t just deliver a tough grade, she charted a path to improvement. Your advice:

Continue working full-time into your 60s to maintain employer-provided health insurance and avoid drawing down savings too soon.
Relocating to Oregon as he’s thinking, which could lower his monthly expenses and allow him to share a home with his sister.
At age 60, she begins collecting her late husband’s Social Security survivor benefits, which will provide her with about $700 a month.
Take a part-time job that makes no more than $15,720 a year, the earnings limit that keeps survivor benefits intact without penalty.
At age 67, you switch to your own full Social Security benefit and drop the survivor benefit. Between that and the investment income, Orman expects to have about $4,100 a month after taxes, a sustainable retirement income.

“Sounds good,” Lisa said after hearing the plan. “Thank you very much.”

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While Lisa’s $828,000 puts her well ahead of most Americans nearing retirement, she’s still far from the millionaire threshold that many consider a safe zone.

According to the Survey of the Federal Reserve of Consumer Financesonly 4.7% of US households have at least $1 million saved for retirement. That means Lisa is close, but not quite at the elite level where early retirement is usually more feasible.

And while $828,000 may seem like a lot, it has to potentially stretch over three decades or more, covering rising health care costs, long-term care, inflation and the possibility of unexpected emergencies. Suze Orman’s “C-minus” grade wasn’t a scolding: it was a caution against walking away too soon and discovering too late that math doesn’t hold up.

In Orman’s world, he’d rather you over-prepare than fall short. She famously warned that even $2 million is “pennies” when the real costs of aging are taken into account. And that’s before factoring in longevity risk, market downturns or surprise medical bills.

If you want to leave your career behind early, or switch to a passion project like working with animals, the key is to build some serious flexibility. This is where a financial advisor can help. They will model your income, benefits, taxes and healthcare in a way that turns vague dreams into sustainable plans. And seconds Northwestern Mutual 2024 Planning and Progress StudyAmericans who work with advisors tend to save twice as much and retire two years earlier than those who go it alone.

For Lisa, the finish line is in sight, but getting there on solid ground means staying the course a little longer.

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This article She has worked 36 years as a nurse and has saved $828,000; now he wants to retire, but Suze Orman says no. He will need to keep working and move to Oregon. originally appeared Benzinga.com

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