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Suze Orman was as candid as ever when Gina, a 56 year-old retiree, called into her Women & Money podcast earlier this year.

Orman was quick to shoot down Gina’s plan, which involved converting a $1.6 million pretax 401(k) into a Roth 401(k), and eventually into a Roth IRA.

Orman was shocked after learning her caller had received this financial advice from her company’s former benefits department. She retorted, “With the utmost of respect to your benefits person – are you crazy? Really?”

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Orman went on to explain that converting from a pretax 401(k) to any Roth account would trigger taxes upfront, as it involves moving funds from a tax-deferred to a tax-free account.

She quickly shot down the plans Gina had for her Roth IRA.

Shuffling accounts, as it turns out, isn’t the tax loophole Gina thought it to be.

Building your retirement strategy

The American system is notoriously convoluted and clunky, and the Tax Policy Center claims it’s getting even more complicated every year.

In an interview with MSNBC earlier this year, Orman was asked what she thought the biggest money problem is for women that are around Gina’s age.

She said women over 50 tend to avoid dealing with money and don’t make plans to take care of themselves later in life, but tend to focus on their family instead.

“Women still give more to others than we give to ourselves and that is a really big mistake.”

For those of us without a direct line to Orman, services like Advisor.com can help. Advisor.com connects you with vetted fiduciary financial advisors near you. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions about your finances, and Adivsor.com matches you with a short list of certified experts to choose from.

You can then set up an introductory meeting with no obligation to hire.

Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it

Diversify your IRA

Suze Orman has long been a passionate advocate for long-term wealth generation.

She frequently emphasizes that saving early can reduce your tax burden and allow for compounding growth, fostering a better financial security for you and your family security down the road.

She’s an especially big fan of Roth IRAs and their tax-free withdrawal benefits. Largely, that’s because these accounts can help you avoid a nasty tax torpedo that can have a detrimental impact on your Social Security benefits in retirement. However, a well-rounded retirement strategy includes careful investment choices within your investment account, no matter what that is.

For instance, if you’re nearing retirement age and optimizing for stability with your investments, gold is typically more stable than stocks during economic downturns and recessions. In fact, gold has increased in value sevenfold over the last 100 years.

Another reason to invest in precious metals like gold is that they can provide significant tax advantages. This is especially important for retirement planning.

One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.

To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $10,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases.

Retirement investing isn’t one-size-fits-all. For experienced investors ready to take greater control, a self-directed retirement account from IRA Financial unlocks a wider range of opportunities — allowing you to diversify your retirement portfolio.

A self-directed retirement account is a tax-advantaged individual retirement account (IRA) that lets investors allocate funds to a significantly broader range of alternative assets than typical IRAs offered by banks or brokerage firms.

While traditional IRAs limit options to stocks, bonds and mutual funds, a self-directed account allows you to invest in real estate, cryptocurrency, private businesses, precious metals and private lending.

IRA Financial offers an easy-to-use platform and app where you can manage your investments. You can also choose to work with their experienced retirement specialists and in-house tax team.

How It works

• Prequalify – Answer a few quick questions in 90 seconds.
• Fund your account – Transfer or contribute funds easily from an existing IRA or retirement plan.
• Choose your plan – Pick from Self‑Directed IRA, Solo 401(k), Checkbook IRA, or Crypto IRA.
• Start investing – Invest tax-free in real estate, crypto, and more.
• With over $5 billion in retirement assets under custody, guaranteed IRA audit protection, 25,000+ clients nationwide and a 97% client retention rate, IRA Financial can help you grow your retirement fund with alternative assets.

Real estate and your IRA

You might also consider additional asset classes for a resilient, long-term portfolio.

For instance, real estate can be a terrific way to diversify while benefiting from tax-free growth and retirement income — so long as you plan correctly.

New investing platforms are making it easier than ever to tap into the real estate market.

For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $36 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors.

With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.

With risk-adjusted internal returns ranging from 14% to 17%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.

If you’re not an accredited investor, crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to enter the real estate market for as little as $100.

Arrived offers you access to shares of SEC-qualified investments in rental homes and vacation rentals, curated and vetted for their appreciation and income potential.

Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit these properties into your investment portfolio regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allows accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work on your part.

Another avenue is commercial real estate. For years, direct access to the $22.5 trillion commercial real estate sector has been limited to a select group of elite investors — until now.

First National Realty Partners (FNRP) allows accredited investors to diversify their portfolio through grocery-anchored commercial properties, without taking on the responsibilities of being a landlord.

With a minimum investment of $50,000, investors can own a share of properties leased by national brands like Whole Foods, Kroger and Walmart, which provide essential goods to their communities. Thanks to Triple Net (NNN) leases, accredited investors are able to invest in these properties without worrying about tenant costs cutting into their potential returns.

Simply answer a few questions – including how much you would like to invest – to start browsing their full list of available properties.

What to read next

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• Accredited investors can now buy into this $22 trillion asset class once reserved for elites – and become the landlord of Walmart, Whole Foods or Kroger without lifting a finger. Here’s how
• Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they’re banking on instead

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.