An IRA is an investment account, a HYSA is a savings account. You’d be hard pressed to even meet inflation in a HYSA, let alone make any real earnings. You put your emergency fund in a HYSA because you don’t want it to be invested. The goal of an emergency fund is not to make money, but to have access to a few month’s expenses in case of an emergency like losing your job. You do want to invest your retirement savings, as you can make a good chunk of money by letting it grow in the market for a few decades. Having that money sit in a HYSA is a ton of missed potential.

You can withdraw from a HYSA any time. It’s just a decent savings account at a bank or credit union.