As for tax policies, that is a more valid concern; there, the best thing is to have investments in several types of accounts: ie tax-deferred like a traditional IRA, something like a Roth, and after-tax investments. IMO, the biggest danger taxwise (although it would be a good thing generally) would be a shift to consumption taxes and away from income taxes, by moving to something like the “Fair Tax” or to “Pigovian taxes” (carbon taxes to reduce oil use, etc). This would hurt post-tax accounts and Roths, but be a good thing for money fetched from traditional IRAs if income taxes are lowered.

I have my own inner doom-sayer, and fortunately it doesn’t come out very often; all I can say is that it only makes sense to prepare in proportion to the likelihood of the outcome. If he thinks there’s a 1% chance of this happening within the next 5 years, he should take $4.5k, buy a storage shed for his back yard, and stock it up with rice and ammo. If he thinks there’s a 10% chance, he should take $45k and buy a small farm close to where he lives.

Without knowing more about the poster’s personal circumstances it’s hard to add anything to JLP’s comments and what has been mentioned above. One thing which I would suggest be considered carefully is the intention to start drawing down in 4.5 years and, if that intention is to be carried out, the best asset allocation – something for a professional financial adviser to consider (something I am not).

One final comment: even though precious metals (and many other things) do not generate income they can still be regarded as investments. There have been studies (which I have some queries on) which suggest that adding some commodities to a portfolio of other investments can add slightly to returns while reducing risk over the medium term.

If the writer fears the government will seal his IRA and he plans to take withdrawals as soon as possible without regard to the tax consequences, then he should learn about 72t withdrawals. At 55 he could already be throwing away his money.