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Taxable brokerage bridge versus traditional 401k contributions for early retirement

April 6, 2026r/financialindependence

In r/financialindependence, early retirees debate whether to reduce traditional 401k contributions to build taxable brokerage bridge money, with replies emphasizing keeping the tax break and using early access strategies.

When to stop traditional 401k contributions (with RMDs in mind), and start building the taxable brokerage "bridge" money to get to age 59.5?
it seems like there’s a limit to how much you can realistically convert to Roth each year without jumping into higher tax brackets.
The answer is ‘and’, not ‘or’ when it comes to adding money to your taxable brokerage vs traditional 401k.
If you skip out on putting money in your 401k, you will never recoup that tax break.
Don't worry about RMDs, the withdrawal rate is close to what you'll be wanting to withdraw anyway.
r/financialindependence
tax strategyearly retirementtaxable brokerageindex fundstaxable brokerage

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