I would stay away from IRAs of any form at this point. It is quite clear that even if you manage to hold on to your money, there will be additional sales taxes

I would stay away from IRAs of any form at this point. It is quite clear that even if you manage to hold on to your money, there will be additional sales taxes which will be imposed. As well, the times that people I know have cashed in or taken a distribution were times that they were not earning much and thus they didn't avoid a high tax rate. I am saving for retirement in the form of actual physical items such as silver and other property I can hold (and possibly some real estate later), and my emergency fund is a number of $100 boxes of nickels - tough to steal, immediately liquid, but just difficult enough to cash in that it forces you to only use it if you have to. A business can serve as a great way to prepare for retirement, which is what I am focused on at the moment.