IRA and 72

[Sara EA]

Posters here have nailed it!  Very similar retirement plans have all different rules surrounding them.  You can invest in guaranteed income funds in 401ks but not 403bs. Avoid early distribution penalties by taking money for education expenses from an IRA but not 401ks.  "Hardship" distributions are a joke because people take money out for everything from casino trips to spending sprees. No excuse needed to withdraw from an IRA.  

Don't lament putting money into an IRA over the years.  You saved taxes, likely federal and state, each year, and you paid no tax on the divs and gains.  That meant you had a lot more money invested that enabled further divs and gains.  If you had instead put the money in a taxable account, between fed, state, and tax on divs and cap gain distributions, you would have had 30-35% LESS money invested each year and thus less to grow.  I converted my IRA to a Roth when they first came out. You were allowed to spread the conversion amount over four years to lessen the tax bite.  After two years, however, taxes went up so I paid 25% the last two years.  That's higher than my bracket now, but who knew.  At least I'll never have to take an RMD from it and won't have to worry if I decide to go gambling or on a spending spree.