[kirpekar]

Absolutely not. You will have to pay taxes on withdrawals and a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Depending on the size of the withdrawal, this will immediately set you back 6-7 years of the 13 you contributed. If you have ~30 years to retire, even a small withdrawal will set you back by 10 years at retirement. Run some basic compound interest calculations if you don't agree.

There are many other options: moonlighting, going part-time, reducing your responsibilities at work, taking an unpaid sabbatical, etc.

[ronaldx]

> Run some basic compound interest calculations if you don't agree.

Make sure to include basic compound inflation because the figures given here seem to be hyperbolic.

[kirpekar]

OK

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

[ronaldx]

Yes, you've failed to consider the time value of money. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money

50k today is worth more than 50k in the future.

(Consistent compounding at 7% is extremely optimistic, even before considering inflation at 3%+).

[obsurveyor]

Early withdrawal penalty is 20% now.

[kirpekar]

Not true

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.

[obsurveyor]

Oh whoops, it was just the HSA withdrawal penalty that went up.