Getting Money out of a Simple Retirement Plan

[Nate Crump]

I have a question on behalf of a friend who isn't a member here. He is a small business owner, so he has money socked away in what he told me was called a "Simple Retirement Plan". I don't know much about those things, but I guess it's different than the 401k or IRA you might have as an employee.

The obvious answer is "consult your accountant", but I wanted to pose the question here. He wants to know if there is any way to roll this money into something where he can then use it for real estate. He currently has some rentals as is, and would like to know if there is any way possible to use that money without paying the penalty.

Thanks for any help or direction.

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

@Nate Crump, being small business owner (I'm assuming he does not have full time employees working for him), he can take advantage of Individual 401k (also know as Solo 401k or owner-only 401k). He needs self directed account.

This type of account could allow him to use his retirement funds for investing into non-traditional assets such as real estate, notes, etc. He would not be taking any money out of the account, so it would not be taxable event. There is more info available to learn about this types of plan. Just be aware that there are different types of Solo 401k providers and not all are the same. Some don't offer some of the features that would otherwise be available with other providers.