Tapping into your retirement savings early may seem like a risky idea. However, there are many reasons why you may have to take money from your 401(k) before retirement. These accounts are meant to ...

Retirement can be stressful even when your investments are doing well. Volatile markets can turn what was low-level background anxiety into a recipe for sleepless nights. You're worried about draining ...

Workers may take hardship withdrawals from a 401(k) account if they have an “immediate and heavy financial need.” Hardship distributions are limited only to the amount necessary to fulfill the need ...

Reaching age 60 is a major financial milestone, particularly when it comes to your 401(k) retirement savings. While you can ...

A 401(k) withdrawal is when you take money out of your retirement account, but when and how you do it matters. In most cases: Withdrawals are allowed penalty-free after age 59½ Taking money earlier ...

Taking a hardship withdrawal from your 401(k) is not a decision to make lightly. You know this. But your budget is stretched so thin it's fraying. As your options dwindle, you figure that your 401(k) ...

More Americans are accessing their 401(k)s early. Find out why, how that could cost you in the long run and which ...

Peter Gratton, Ph.D., is a New Orleans-based editor and professor with over 20 years of experience in investing, economics, and public policy. Peter began covering markets at Multex (Reuters) and has ...

The share of people taking 401(k) hardship withdrawals rose last year to the highest level ever recorded by Vanguard. The investment firm reports that 6% of plan participants used a hardship ...