David, there is a little-known way to withdraw IRA money before retirement age.
At any age, you can elect to withdraw your IRA money in equal amounts over your remaining lifespan. The IRS has tables for this -- the catch is that their lifespan figures are a lot higher than actuarial tables. Let's say it's 85 years. So, at age 50, you can begin withdrawing your money, divided into 35 equivalent annual amounts (I think you can do it monthly, but the principle is the same.) No penalty! You have to fill out some form, of course, but it's all perfectly legal.
Now, not many people have so much in their IRA that they can afford to withdraw it over 30 years, but certainly the bull market has been good to a lot of people, so it's something to think about. Hey, 2 million divided by 30 years is 66 grand a year. |
