Discover the essentials of early withdrawal penalties, including their meaning, calculation, scenarios, exceptions, and strategies to minimize them.

There are definite pros and cons to taking a 401(k) withdrawal for this.

The taxes owed depend on your age, the type of account, and more ...

Index funds have basically become the default recommendation for retirement investing, and for good reason, as low fees, broad diversification, and decades of data showing they outperform most ...

If you take money out of your IRA early, you'll get hit with a hefty penalty. You also lose out on the returns any withdrawn funds would have generated in the future. You should try to avoid early ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Host of the Retire Sooner podcast and CFP™ practitioner. Many investors gain penalty-free access to retirement accounts at age 59½ ...

Learn the early retirement withdrawal rules that allow you to access retirement funds before age 59½ without penalties, including the Rule of 72(t) and the Rule of 55, and how to use them wisely.