I need help with 401k

[Eric Varnell]

I have been an employee of Costco for about 9 1/2 years and I was just recently terminated. It's been about a month and I'm still jobless. I applied for unemployment until I can find a job that is somewhat close to the pay I was getting. Due to the reason of my termination I'm not allowed UI. I'm officially broke with no source of income as of right now and on top of that I'm also carless. I did appeal for the UI but that's also a two week process. I have a solid chunk of change in my 401k and I know it's considered financially dumb to take the early withdrawal penalty but I feel I have no choice right now. I know I wouldn't spend it all right away but If I bought a decent car and paid my next couple of months worth of bills then I could definitely get a head start to getting back on track. Should I cash out what I need and then invest the rest into an IRA or something along those lines? Is that even possible? Any and every suggestion would help. If you need numbers then it's about 50k in the 401k.

Thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully respond

[George Blower]

@Eric Varnell

You may be best off keeping the 401k funds where they are at for now since they are afforded creditor protection under ERISA.  Creditor protection falls at the state level for IRAs. 

On the other hand, one reason to transfer the funds to an IRA is if you are looking to invest in something other than what the existing plan offers which may just be a handful of mutual funds. The IRA would allow you to invest in all types of equities and real-estate rentals, for example.

Lastly, it appears that IRAs are protected from creditors in New Mexico. See the following:

100% - N.M. Sta. Ann. Sec. 42-10-1; 42-10-2