Finally, there is one additional exception for qualified plans that is not available to traditional IRAs. If employment ended after age 55, then distributions can be taken from the one qualified account associated with that employer without penalty. This is only allowed if employment ended after age 55 though, so that the exception does not start at 55 for those who ended employment at an earlier age. This exception may not always be useful as many employer plans do not allow discretionary withdrawals.
