A system and method for decoding encoded data, employing a parser and at least one decoder. The parser receives and parses the encoded data into a plurality of parsed data streams, with each of the parsed data streams including a portion of said encoded data. The decoder decodes the parsed data streams based on at least information included in the parsed data streams to provide decoded data which includes soft decision data. The decoder can perform a respective decoding iteration on each respective one of the parsed data streams to provide the decoded data, and can perform such decoding iterations based on additional information, such as parity information, pertaining to the data in the parsed data streams. Alternatively, the decoder can include a plurality of decoders, each adapted to decode a respective one of the parsed data streams to output a respective decoded data stream as a portion of the decoded data. The system and method alternatively can be configured without a parser, and can employ at least one soft decoder module and another decoder module. The soft decoder module can perform multiple decoding iterations on the encoded data to provide soft decision data relating to the encoded data, without providing any hard decision data, and the other decoder module decodes the encoded data based on the soft decision data to provide hard decoded data representative of a decoded condition of said encoded data and/or soft decision data relating to said encoded data.