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    How do people with a majority of their retirement savings in retirement accounts FIRE?

    Not applicable to me at the moment unless I hit the jackpot on an investment or two, but as 99% of my retirement savings is tied up in my 401(a), IRA, and Roth how would I ever be able to FIRE before 59 1/2? I assume that's part of FIRE planning, making sure that you invest funds in a way that they'll be available before retirement age?

    How do people with a majority of their retirement savings in retirement accounts FIRE?
    byu/beer_and_fun infinancialindependence



    Posted by beer_and_fun

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    8 Comments

    4. TheGruenTransfer on

      You can touch the principal contribution in a Roth IRA after 5 years, so look into Roth laddering.  In short, you start with 5 years of expenses in cash, Roth IRAs, or taxable brokerage accounts when you retire early. Each year, you convert a year of expenses from your 401k to a Roth IRA (which you’ll pay taxes on), and in 5 years you can touch the principal, which you’ll use to pay that year’s bills. You can start this process at age 55 penalty-free, per the 401k rule of 55.

    5. Impossible_Ebb_3856 on

      Need to cover the gap between FIREing and 59.5. A few ways are below but theres some others out there as well im not familiar with.

      1. Rule of 55 lets you pull from current employer’s 401k if retiring at 55. You cannot pull from previous employer 401ks though.
      2. Withdraw ROTH IRA contributions to cover the gap. This likely wouldnt be nearly enough but it can help.
      3. I think theres some fancy things you can do with a HSA where you pay for medical expenses out of pocket now and you can reimburse yourself later (dont quote me on this).
      4. Taxable brokerage account.

    6. ImPapaNoff on

      Did you spend any time trying to get the answer to this question before asking it on a public forum?

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