Stop twiddling your thumbs. Right now. Yes, you there, on the front row—now, sit up and listen because we’re going to run through some of the quick 401k questions rules that you need to know to effectively work within the limits of your 401k account. Lots of people fail to ever question the rules; while we don’t promote loopholes, we do invite you to make the best of your 401k that you can. A very important part of that process is knowing how the 401k questions rules.

First, you’ve probably heard of 401k rollovers as a way that the 401k questions rules. The rule is that your 401k stays put until retirement. Period. More or less, that rule—that piece of common wisdom—is true. The government has provisions for the fluidity of your 401k but doesn’t exactly go about trumpeting them. It’s in the best interest of the IRS that you let your 401k sit idle, receiving the money you put into it, until it’s time for you to retire, when you can responsibly make use of the money in your 401k account without becoming a financial burden on the government. They’re even willing to give up some of their income tax revenue on this basis by deferring the taxes on your 401k until you start taking distributions.

But one of the ways that the 401k structure questions this rule is by the frequent permissibility of penalty-free rollovers. Often, you can transfer funds from your 401k to another 401k or to an IRA without incurring any penalties. If you do incur penalties, they usually won’t be at the hand of the government—as long as you do it legally and don’t try to save more into your 401k than is provided for under the law—but will instead be the fault of the entity sponsoring your 401k account. In that way, you need to question the rules, too, and find out what happens to your old 401k if you get terminated or elect to change jobs.

Second, however, you probably are aware that the 401k questions rules when it comes to when you get to withdraw it. You’ve probably heard that there are certain penalty-free withdrawals but think that such withdrawals could never apply to you. Well, the fact of the matter is that they can. Whenever you are facing a significant life event (as defined by the IRS—heavy medical expenses, college tuition, and mortgage repayments to prevent foreclosure being among these), you just might be able to make use of your 401k funds. Often, if your employer has the provision for it, you can also take a loan against your 401k account. You have to repay it (and, yes, the mental gymnastics of being indebted to yourself are indeed gold medal–worthy), but you can use it.

Information on 401(k) hardship and withdrawal rules can be daunting to say the least. A question was raised concerning a 55 year old man who asked if he could withdraw his 401k without penalty as long as he was leaving his job and if this is true for all 401k plans. Are there any specific reasons someone has to have for withdrawal without penalty?

Third, the 401k questions rules simply by existing. Few are the progressive financial advisors who can look at so tempting a prize without thinking of ways to take the most advantage of it. So when you question 401k rules, know what the rules are and then see how they work for you.