glad to have found this place

[nickel]

Hey all, I've enjoyed poking around in the forums thus far, and just wanted to say "hi".

We're in our mid-30s with four young kids and have been packing it away in retirement accounts (maxing 403(b), 457(b), SEP-IRA and 'regular' employer's retirement account). However, I've recently had a shift in thinking and have been thinking more about the importance of saving outside of tax-advantaged accounts if we're going to be able to make the break before 59-1/2...

Anyway, great forums. I'm sure I'll be learning a lot here.

Cheers, nickel

P.S. I hope the signature links are okay -- I read the community rules and it seems that they are. If not, please let me know. I'd hate to "step in it" on my very first post.

[Marquette]

Hey Nickel, welcome!

Just a quick note. We're just starting to build up our taxable accounts ourselves, but one thing that I'm hoping to take advantage of, and you might want to check out, are the IRS rules around taking substantially equal periodic payments as a way to tap into IRA accounts early. Just search here or on the Internet for SEPP or 72t; the main section that deals with this is 72(t).

One site I've come across is Welcome to 72t on the Net

[nickel]

Yeah, substantially equal payments is at the top of my list of things to learn about. The 457(b) also gives us a bit of flexibility, as it's not subject to the 59.5 age limit (i.e., no penalties for withdrawal upon termination of employment). That being said, we've just recently started contributing to that (maxed it out at $15.5k last year, plan to continue doing so going forward).

[bssc]

Hi and welcome

I second the 72(t) option. Of course, the other half of the equation, one which is been an issue for DW and I, is how much we spend.