When taken funds out of a 401K is unemployment considered a hardship?

Question

I lost my job 2 months ago. I went to the Family Independence Agency and they said they couldn't help me because I have too much in assets (over 3,000.00).
So basically I need to take the money out of my 401k and then spend it to survive until it runs out so I can get assistance, but when I go to get the forms from the 401k company unemployment isn't listed as a hardship in order to not pay the 10% penalty (on top of the 20% given to taxes.
I don't mind the taxes because I might get that back next year at tax time but why can someone buying a house get a break on the penalty where someone trying to save his house doesn't?

Sorry that should actually be "When TAKING funds..."

Answer 1

The only hardship that you can remove funds from a 401(k) plan without paying the 10% penalty tax is to either pay medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your AGI or if you become totally and permanently disabled.

Your situation, unfortunately, does not qualify for exclusion from the10% penalty tax.

Someone buying a home CANNOT remove funds from a 401(k) without paying the penalty tax. That option is available for distributions from an IRA, but not from a 401(k).

You should check and see if retirement fund accounts are exempt from consideration as resources available for your support. Bank deposits are counted, of course, but retirement funds may be exempt.

Answer 2

to take a hardship you have to be employed. If you're unemployed then your option is to take a distribution. You can split the distribution to only take the portion that you need and roll the rest into an IRA. Thus you'll reduce your overall tax hit.

And by the way...taking a 401k hardship exposes you to the penalty no matter what the reason. You can avoid the penalty by taking a distribution from an IRA for a home purchase but not from a 401k. There are exceptions to that penalty for 401k distributions but a hardship of any type is not one of them.

Answer 3

I would not suggest that you take that money out of your 401k. That should be your absolute last resort. Your main problem is not the taxes, but the future value of your money. Many people who take funds out of their retirement do not understand the rule of 72. Basically what this means is if you divide the interest rate you're getting on your money by the number 72, then thats how many years it'll take for your money to double without you adding to it. Example: let's say you're getting 12% on your 401k and you have about 20 years until you retire. If you divide 12 into 72 that will give you 6. so about every 6 years your money will double. Yr 6=6,000. Yr 12=12,000. And Yr 18=24,000. So by year 20 you would have about 30k without you even adding money. So the 3k you take out today will equal about 30,000 dollars of your money at retirement. So think about it.