There are many other options: moonlighting, going part-time, reducing your responsibilities at work, taking an unpaid sabbatical, etc.
There are many other options: moonlighting, going part-time, reducing your responsibilities at work, taking an unpaid sabbatical, etc.
Make sure to include basic compound inflation because the figures given here seem to be hyperbolic.
100k principal, add 1k every month for 30 years. Compound at 7% --> 2M
50k principal, add 1k every month for 30 years. Compound at 7% --> 1.6M
Withdrawing 50k today costs you 400k in retirement
400k = 20% of 2M = 8 years of your 40 year career
50k today is worth more than 50k in the future.
(Consistent compounding at 7% is extremely optimistic, even before considering inflation at 3%+).
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc424.html
Distributions received before age 59½ are subject to an early distribution penalty of 10% additional tax unless an exception applies.