On the other hand, mutual funds can generate a steady stream of capital gains throughout the time that you own them.
Advisors recommend early retirees use Roth IRAs and taxable accounts for assets they need before their 60s. Early retirees can convert traditional retirement account assets to a Roth IRA in retirement when their tax liability may be lower.
If you want to retire before age 59½ and begin taking distributions from your 401k plan, you will generally be subject to a 10% early distribution penalty. The early distribution penalty is the cornerstone of the government's campaign to discourage us from plundering our savings before our golden years.
Relying on Roth IRA withdrawals, along with funds from an employer-sponsored retirement plan and taxable investments can make taking Social Security early, and potentially short-changing benefits, a less urgent need. Best reasons to use a Roth IRA for early retirement: Contributions can be withdrawn at any time.
One option for taking early distributions from a traditional IRA or for taking non-qualified Roth IRA distributions is to use the IRS's section 72(t)(2) rule, which allows retirement account holders to avoid paying the 10 percent penalty by taking a series of substantially equal periodic payments (SEPPs) for five years ...
In the case of early retirement, a benefit is reduced 5/9 of one percent for each month before normal retirement age, up to 36 months. If the number of months exceeds 36, then the benefit is further reduced 5/12 of one percent per month.
If your annual pre-retirement expenses are $50,000, for example, you'd want retirement income of $40,000 if you followed the 80 percent rule of thumb. If you and your spouse will collect $2,000 a month from Social Security, or $24,000 a year, you'd need about $16,000 a year from your savings.
The first five-year rule states that you must wait five years after your first contribution to a Roth IRA to withdraw your earnings tax free. The five-year period starts on the first day of the tax year for which you made a contribution to any Roth IRA, not necessarily the one you're withdrawing from.
Key Takeaways
Roth IRAs offer several key benefits, including tax-free growth, tax-free withdrawals in retirement, and no required minimum distributions. An obvious disadvantage is that you're contributing post-tax money, and that's a bigger hit on your current income.
But it's considerably more so if you want to retire early. One rule of thumb recommends multiplying your desired annual income in retirement by 25 to come up with a savings goal. So, if you want to have $50,000 a year for 25 years, you'd need $1.25 million.
The IRS allows penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts after age 59 ½ and requires withdrawals after age 72 (these are called Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs).
Retirement experts have offered various rules of thumb about how much you need to save: somewhere near $1 million, 80% to 90% of your annual pre-retirement income, 12 times your pre-retirement salary.
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