You obviously want to avoid withdrawing money prematurely. Several financial planners suggest pulling from emergency savings if you have it or other taxable accounts before resorting to retirement accounts. But if you absolutely must tap these funds, some of these methods will help reduce the damage.

DO NOT ROLL OVER YOUR 401(K) If you were laid off the year you turned 55 or older, you should think twice about rolling over your 401(k) or 403(b) into an I.R.A. You can withdraw money from the account penalty-free (though you will have to pay income taxes), whereas you would have to wait until you turned 59 1/2 to use those funds in an I.R.A. This rule does not apply to people who left their employer, say, at age 54, and who want to pull money out at 55.

TAP YOUR ROTH I.R.A. You can pull out all of your Roth contributions — but not the earnings — at any time and for any reason, free of tax and penalty. (If you converted a traditional I.R.A. to a Roth, that money could be pulled out, too, as long as it had been in the account for at least five years; each batch of money converted starts a new five-year period.)

PAY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE If you are out of work, you can also take an early, penalty-free distribution from your I.R.A., to pay your health insurance premiums. To qualify, you need to have received, or be receiving, state or federal unemployment benefits for 12 consecutive weeks, according to Ed Slott, an I.R.A. expert and the author of “The Retirement Savings Time Bomb ... and How to Defuse It” (Penguin, 2003), though self-employed people are also eligible. Another caveat: You need to pay for your insurance during the year you received unemployment benefits or the year after.

In fact, paying for health insurance before you are eligible for Medicare is probably one of the biggest challenges of joblessness. Mr. Gottfried suggested looking at high-deductible plans used in conjunction with a health savings account, which allows you to set aside money tax-free that can then be used for medical expenses and premiums.

“That might tide you over, especially when most of those H.S.A.’s will allow a transfer from a traditional I.R.A.,” he added. “Or, if you put money into an H.S.A., you receive a deduction.”

ANNUITIZE YOUR I.R.A. OR 401(K) A tax break known as the 72(t) rule will also allow you to withdraw money without penalty from a 401(k) or traditional I.R.A. Using this method, you must withdraw a “series of substantially equal periodic payments” over a five-year period or until you reach age 59 1/2, whichever is longer. The payout is determined by your life expectancy or the joint life expectancy of you and your beneficiary. But you cannot change the payment schedule — otherwise, you will have to pay the 10 percent penalty.