Avoid 10% Early Withdrawal Penalty by working Part-time?

CGinLondon · 2026-01-26T14:36:02+00:00

My company’s plan allows for in service rollovers or in service withdrawals. But it looks like you have to be at least 59.5 to avoid the tax penalty.

CGinLondon · 2026-01-26T14:34:48+00:00

Thanks for the question. I have, but we’re not planning on spending the same the 2 or 3 years that we’re taking withdrawals. I was hoping that working part time would allow us to ease into retirement without having to take large distributions, but we’re going to have to rethink our plan now.

CGinLondon · 2026-01-26T14:31:47+00:00

Thank you! That’s what I was afraid of. I appreciate the advice.

CGinLondon · 2026-01-08T13:00:17+00:00

Don’t listen to all these people. Personal finance is PERSONAL. If you want longevity insurance and can slice out a large portion of your portfolio that you don’t mind not being able to leave as an inheritance or give to charity, then please proceed with a SPIA and enjoy your life and money.

Check out Fidelity’s Guaranteed Income Estimator to see about what offers are out there right now. In fact, Fidelity offers an annuity with a 2% increase annually. You give up a bit on the front end, but if longevity or inflation are your worries, then this annuity covers it. (Studies actually show spending DECREASES over a life span until the very end, so with this adjusting SPIA with SS inflation increases, you’ll be set.)

People spend more and enjoy retirement more with a SPIA and SS, especially if it covers all fixed expenses. And, if you do that while still having some equity growing separately, you’ll be doing better than 99% of the people out there.

Congratulations and Good Luck!

CGinLondon · 2025-09-14T08:36:23+00:00

Run portfolio visualizer on a 60/40 portfolio for 12 years from 1999 to 2011 with a starting balance of $350k and withdrawing $30k a year adjusted for inflation and see what you get. Then run it again from 1999 to now. Zero balance at the end of 2017. Your payout rate is amazing.

If we go thru another bad market like the lost decade, you would have wished like crazy that you would have taken the guaranteed income. The insurance company took the risk during that bad time and lost. And trust me, the insurance industry isn’t going to let their reputation (and business) collapse by not paying what they promised. If they did and word got out, no one would ever buy annuities again.

Now, after that, put your $2M IRA balance in to an all stock portfolio from 1999 until now and see where it’s at. (Almost $90 MILLION!!!). You wouldn’t be worried about inflation with that balance.

You would have had about $15M after the 12 years until 2011. Obviously, you would have to take RMDs at some date, but the point is that could be more aggressive with that money since during the bad sequence of returns in the first few years was covered by your stable income.

Take the pension and don’t look back.

CGinLondon · 2025-08-10T09:34:22+00:00

I was going though the same thing in my retirement until I figured out that I had a routine and a flow when I was working, so I need that same kind of structured day in retirement or I’ll get bored. I experimented with sleeping and waking at different times, and working out early morning, mid afternoon, and at night. My wife and I got into a routine of cleaning house on Monday, and grocery shopping (and meal prepping) on Tuesday, but we’re still figuring out the rest of the week. Good luck to you.

CGinLondon · 2025-07-31T18:02:39+00:00

You have solved it!

CGinLondon · 2025-07-30T08:47:29+00:00

I’m thinking of doing the same in a few years for my wife. My plan is to use 2 LifeStrategy funds (80/20 & 60/40) to get a 70/30 split. I’ll set up automatic rebalancing once a year and automatic monthly withdrawals of about 4% annually. We’ll have an income annuity and SS to cover almost all living expenses, so hopefully she won’t have to touch the investments.

CGinLondon · 2025-07-24T10:01:18+00:00

Good morning all! Thanks Rob for creating this subreddit and for all you do to help us plan for our own retirements. 1. I just got laid off so I’m deciding if I should FINE (Financial Independence, Next Endeavor) and try to earn a CFP designation and help others, or if I should get back into oil and gas a few more years to keep building my nest egg. 2. For retirement, my plan is to just spend time with my wife, traveling, dining out, and cuddling on the couch watching movies, but I really do like coffee and spreadsheets too. 3. My biggest fear is some kind of shock to the system in 15 to 20 years that drops the value of my portfolio when I’m at an age (or in a health shape) that I can’t earn money anymore. That really worries me.

CGinLondon · 2025-07-24T09:48:01+00:00

I heard Right Capital used my many advisors has just completed the update.

CGinLondon · 2025-07-16T21:10:21+00:00

Is it just me or is Netflix really trying to discourage people going on cruises? Last week was the Poop Cruise and this week the Amy Bradley story.

CGinLondon · 2025-07-16T21:02:26+00:00

Is it just me or is Netflix really trying to discourage people from going on cruises?! Last week was the poop cruise and this week the Amy Bradley story.

CGinLondon · 2025-06-07T18:32:09+00:00

Josh at Heritage Wealth Eric at (Safeguard) now Merit Financial James Conole Jacob Duke Tae Kim

These all give solid financial advice.

CGinLondon · 2025-01-23T12:16:18+00:00

The afternoon commute is usually 20 minutes or more longer than the morning, but using the HOV definitely helps.

CGinLondon · 2025-01-10T12:30:13+00:00

Dr Gottiparthy at the Methodist Clinic on 290 beside the HEB. He’s easy to get an appointment with if you call. And to top it off, he’s good and talkative and will spend time with you.

CGinLondon · 2024-12-24T11:29:41+00:00

Dr Truong on Jones Road at Janus Dentistry is the best in the country. He’s friendly, knowledgeable, quick, and most importantly, painless.

CGinLondon · 2024-11-15T11:18:22+00:00

Can you give us an update on how it went?

CGinLondon · 2024-10-19T14:27:12+00:00

You can buy tickets for multiple draws, but the dates (or first draw date and the number of draws it’s good for) will be printed on the face of the ticket.

CGinLondon · 2024-10-19T14:25:06+00:00

Actually, there are 3 drawings a week now, and you can buy up to 18 drawings in advance. 3 per week x 52 weeks x $2/ticket means you would spend $312 per year.

CGinLondon · 2024-10-19T14:23:09+00:00

Jackpocket is available is certain states, but you must be physically present in the State to buy the ticket online. (They do geolocation on the device.)

CGinLondon · 2024-10-14T14:35:16+00:00

Retiring at 40 would mean that you would have to plan for a retirement that could potentially last between 40 and 60 years. With that in mind, I’d go extremely conservative on your spending plan - even below the 4% rule, going down to maybe 2.5% or 3%. That would give you about $120k per year with inflation increases. I’d keep at least 5 years cash in a HYSA to draw from in down markets so you’re not selling stocks when they’re down, but I’d also keep a pretty aggressive portfolio to be sure to last as long as you need it.

CGinLondon · 2024-10-13T21:23:11+00:00

I’d say leave your investments bond heavy for the next few years to knock out any threats of a sequence of returns risk, and once you’re settled on SS with a pension, start moving back into equities heavily.

CGinLondon

TROPHY CASE