Will this be a good strategy for an early retireee? I plan to retire at around 62~63, and withdraw money from my 401K to pay for my living expenses. Then at 65, I will start collect my pension benefit from my company. At 67, I will file and collect Social Security benefit? [Note: My wife is 9 years younger than me. I should be able to get group health rate through my wife. However, she is also thinking to retire at the same time as I. So, she will follow my footstep, i.e., she will also wait until 65 to collect her penson and until 67 to collect Social Security.]

Hi,

The strategy you outline would probably be fine, but whether or not it would be the best strategy in your case depends in large part on your and your wife's relative Social Security benefit rates. Larry is a proponent of tapping your 401k for living expenses instead of drawing your Social Security benefits early, so it sounds like you're on the right track in that regard. Here is a column of Larry's that may be of interest to you: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kotlikoff/2014/03/26/economic-magic-pulling....

You should strongly consider using our software to explore and compare your various options so that you can make a fully educated decision on the best overall strategy for you and your wife. It sounds like you would be a good candidate for our Maxifi program, which is a comprehensive financial planning tool. For more information, refer to the following page: https://maxifiplanner.com/retirement-planning-maxifi.

Best, Jerry