Penalty-Free Retirement Plan Withdrawals for Those Affected by Disasters

People affected by major disasters may be eligible for expanded access to their retirement accounts to help with the difficult recovery process. You may qualify for this program if your main residence is in a federally declared disaster area and you experience impacts like displacement from your home, loss of income, or destruction or loss of property. Eligible people may withdraw up to $22,000 from an IRA or other qualified retirement plan regardless of their age, without facing a 10% early withdrawal penalty. They may either repay the withdrawn amount within three years and owe no tax on it or divide it equally across three years of tax returns to reduce tax impacts. Retirement plans may also offer increased loan limits and delayed repayment options to qualified account holders.