--- title: What If I Need My 401(k) Money Before I Retire? description: You need to keep the money in the plan until you reach age 59 ½. Withdraw it before then and you'll be hit with a 10% early withdrawal penalty. authors: - name: timestaff url: https://money.com/author/timestaff/ articles: 459 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2014-05-29T13:54:49.000Z' modified: '2014-05-29T13:54:49.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - 401(k) - 401(k)s - 401k withdraw - 401k withdrawals - early 401k withdrawals - early withdrawals - Retirement - retirement accounts - retirement investments - retirement planning - retirement savings - saving for retirement canonical: https://money.com/collection-post/401k-withdrawals-before-retirement/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![What If I Need My 401(k) Money Before I Retire?](https://money.com/img/logo-social.png) Typically you need to keep the money in the plan until you reach age 59 ½. Withdraw any of it before then and you'll be hit with a bruising 10% early withdrawal penalty, on top of the regular income tax that is due on withdrawals. Bad idea. There are exceptions, however. The IRS waives the 10% penalty for certain "hardship" withdrawals. Each plan's rules vary (check yours to be sure), but you may be able take money out of your retirement account penalty-free before age 59 ½ if you use it for: - Purchasing your first home - Expenses after the onset of a sudden disability - Higher education expenses (like college for your kids) - Payments you make to prevent eviction or foreclosure. You should consider all these last ditch options, though. After all, the money is locked up until retirement for a very good reason: If you spend it now, you risk jeopardizing your financial security when you're older. If you can't get the money anywhere else, your best option is probably a loan. Many 401(k) plans allow you to borrow against the amount in your account. You must repay the money to your account within a set period - usually a few years - or the loan is treated as a withdrawal, meaning you'll owe taxes and a 10% penalty on it. There are three main drawbacks to taking out a loan. First, you reduce the money you have growing for your retirement years. Second, you have to pay interest on the amount you borrow — typically the prime rate plus one percentage point — though you do pay the interest to yourself. 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