We are under age 40 and needing to cash the retirement due to job loss. Being in college, we would like to avoid the 10% IRS penalty and put the funds toward college expenses - IRA does allow this, but I can't find any info to see if PERA Colorado does?
This may help you
I'm assuming your PERA account is a type of qualified plan. The chart says no for Education. See IRC Section 72(t)(2)(E).
Instead of withdrawing, you might consider a loan? That would avoid taxation completely, including the penalty
Just be sure you pay it back either before retiring or under the loan terms.
due to job loss
Many plans do not permit loans unless you are still employed there. How about rolling it into an IRA, and then taking a distribution from that?
Sorry...I missed the "job loss"...must have glossed over it
Thanks for that information. You’ve been helpful. Not our government though. There is no reason to make education exempt. What a sad government we have to choose taking money that isn’t even theirs as a “penalty” for not being “old enough” to access it, instead of helping a family with earning an education. So now we will go further into debt for school just so we can give our hard earned money to the IRS. I’m
@Tris919 You might do as @SweetieJean suggests. Create an IRA, roll the money from the PERA into the IRA and then take a distribution.
However, taking a distribution will mean paying tax on that now, but no penalty if used for education.
The reasoning behind the 10% early withdrawal penalty is to "encourage" people not to use up their retirement savings, but to keep the savings until retirement.
You might want to consult a financial planner
@LudwigVan_fan IRA plans cannot legally issue loans, so OP would need to take a distribution.
Retirement Plans FAQs regarding Loans | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)
@SweetieJean Guess I need to read more carefully, been away from some of these things for too long 🙄