When Can I Access My Roth 401K? 
That is a great question ! With any retirement vehicle , the design is for the money to remain in the account for as long as possible , to provide the best chance for supporting your retirement . That said , there are times when cash is needed for emergencies . That 's where having a Roth comes in handy . The IRS requires a penalty if you 're taking your withdrawal before the age of 59 1/2 , unless what you take out is less than the amount you 've contributed to it . For example : You 've paid into your Roth $ 55,000 over the years . It has a value of well over that amount . If your withdrawal is say $ 50,000 , you would most likely not pay the 10 % penalty , or taxes , especially if the money is to be used for a home , school expenses , or catastrophic medical expenses . If you were to withdraw over that $ 55,000 amount , you may have taxes and penalties to worry about , especially if the withdrawal is not for the reasons I mentioned . Other than the 5 year , 59 1/2 rules , there really is no forced time to have to start taking withdrawals , which makes this an exceptionally good retirement vehicle - wait on this one until the others have been run low . I hope that helps , thanks for asking ! 