Withdrawing from retirement accounts

[Michelle McGinty]

I just recently stumbled upon the FIRE community and BiggerPockets. Seems to me that many people who have achieved FIRE got there by maxing out their tax advantaged retirement accounts and then use the 4% rule to live off their nest egg. From what I understand if I retire in my 40s I will incur a penalty for withdrawing from my 401k and Roth IRA early? Typically, do people who retire early just pay the penalty, is there a way around this, or are they using taxable accounts until they reach the typical retirement age? Thanks in advance for any advice!