If you are disabled, you can withdraw funds from your IRA without penalty. If you die, your beneficiaries will have no penalty for withdrawing funds. You can avoid an early retirement penalty if you use the funds to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Additionally, you may consider investing in a Gold based IRA to further minimize the taxes you'll pay when you withdraw money from your IRA. Possibilities include converting traditional IRAs into Roth IRAs, having several IRAs, donating IRA values to a charity, or creating a QLAC.
Since many of them involve some complexity, you may want to consult a financial advisor so you don't risk having to pay a large tax bill at the end of the year. The other time you risk receiving a tax penalty for withdrawing money early is when you transfer money from one IRA to another qualified IRA. Another strategy is to convert part of your traditional IRA into a Roth IRA in years when you expect to be in a lower tax bracket. If you expect your tax bracket to be higher when you retire than it is now, it may make sense to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
