Early IRA Withdrawals Can Be Penalty-Free

Individual retirement accounts have strict rules for depositing and withdrawing money. But there are exceptions, and one of them is attracting attention these days—“substantially equal periodic payments.”

Often referred to as 72(t) plans, this option allows those under the age of 59½ to withdraw funds early from their traditional IRA accounts, for any reason, without paying the usual early-withdrawal penalty of 10% on top of the regular taxes.