I was lucky enough to be able to retire early from my work. All of my working life, I planned to work well into my sixties. With some sound financial moves, I was able to end at age fifty five instead. One of the things that sealed the deal for me was the 72t Ira Distribution plan. Under this plan, I was able to start drawing money from my account at age fifty five without paying the IRS imposed ten percent penalty. I had to take a fixed amount of money each month for five years, and then I could treat my Ira as normal.