I'm about 4 years off from starting medical school and am saving for tuition in my retirement accounts. I live in a state with a 5.25% income tax and the state I am planning on moving to for medical school does not have an income tax. My plan is put $45,000 per year into my pension (required)/403b/457/and IRA accounts. When I attend medical school and if I draw from my retirement accounts I will save roughly 10% in federal income tax, and an additional 5.25% in state income tax, leaving me with an additional 15% (should it hold its current value) as opposed to paying taxes now and putting the funds in a CD. Traditional advice is to not invest money that is needed in the near term. My question is should I put the funds into a stable market fund (fidelity) or allocate a percentage to stocks and bonds? In the event that I invest in stocks and bonds and the value goes down, I would end up taking out student loans until either the funds regained their value or I finish school. Some amount of loans are going to be inevitable.