**F5 Employees**

If you plan to retire and take withdrawals from your F5 401(k) before age 59.5, I have some bad news.

Apparently, F5's plan only allows for a one-time lump-sum withdrawal or a rollover to an IRA. The first option could subject you to a massive income tax hit that year. The second option could subject you to an additional 10% penalty tax on early IRA withdrawals before age 59.5. As such, you'll have to pick your poison.

The solution, if you have a large 401(k) balance, is to fund your early retirement from taxable investments instead, and wait until after age 59.5 to tap into your 401(k) or Rollover-IRA.

This is likely an issue for other 401(k) plans as well.