Using the Principle of a Roth IRA

[Alejandro Alcantara]

Greetings, I am new investor just getting in the game and trying to raise my own capital (not into hard/private lending at this point). I am secure with my pension and 457(b) plan that I don't plan on touching (still have a ways to go before retiring). I do have an Roth IRA that has been sitting in an account for years ($36K) going nowhere (i.e. not contributing to). There is talk about using the principle without being penalized. I received the transcripts from American Funds and it actually shows "the contribution" and then any "dividend, interest, or capital gains" earned on that principle. Although the transcript ends in 2003 I have bank statements showing contributions up until 2006. My question is can I use this information to pull out the principle? If so, has anyone done so and how did they do it? Was it matter of just calling the brokerage firm and providing the paperwork or is their other hoops to jump through? As a newbie taking the baby steps and making sure the math is right before going all in I would really appreciate any feedback. Thank you.