You should avoid spending retirement before filing bankruptcy, as retirement accounts are typically exempt assets for the purposes of bankruptcy. This means that even if you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, in which any of your available assets are liquidated and the proceeds applied toward your debts, your retirement accounts are safe from liquidation. The goal of this exemption is to help protect your future finances after you have emerged from bankruptcy proceedings. Therefore, there is no need to spend any money that you have placed in retirement accounts in order to pay down your debts prior to filing bankruptcy. Rather, focus your efforts on collecting together all of your debts and assets so that you can give your bankruptcy attorney a clear picture of your situation, and so that you can be sure to include all eligible debts in your bankruptcy filing.