A storage apparatus includes non-volatile memory cells formed on a memory die, each memory cell configured to hold bits of data, and a control circuit formed on the memory die. The control circuit is configured to calculate parity data for data to be stored in the memory cells and program the memory cells to first distributions. The control circuit is also configured to read the memory cells in the first distributions, recover the data from results of reading the memory cells in the first distributions combined with the parity data, and further program the memory cells from the first distributions to second distributions to store the data. In some cases, the recovered data may have a high bit error rate. To handle higher bit error rates, the use of soft bit data is incorporated into an encoded foggy-fine scheme.