Account Invasion

"They are going to take you."
--Bryan Mills (Taken)

A few years back I broke into my IRA to help pay off my mortgage. Part of my reasoning was that I did not know what the marginal tax rate would be on IRA distributions when I retire. They could easily be higher than my current rate + the 10% early withdrawal penalty levied when I took out the funds.

The recent happenings in Cyprus moves such a proposition closer to reality. In fact, it quickens it. What we are witnessing is the invasion of financial accounts by government. At their discretion, officials can confiscate property from an individual's account.

The focus right now is on bank accounts. But why couldn't such policy be extended to, say, retirement accounts? You could wake up one morning and 30% of your IRA could be expropriated in the name of 'national security,' or 'the greater good.'

The larger your account, the more attractive the target for government theft.

If I had deposits in any EU bank, then I would be withdrawing as much as I could as fast as I could. I would also be considering my options for moving/liquidating investment accounts.

I would then begin pondering my situation w.r.t. US-based accounts...