Many hardworking single adults make well over minimum wage but still find themselves trapped in a cycle of living paycheck to paycheck. Despite budgeting carefully and cutting out non-essential spending, existing debts and skyrocketing living expenses consume their income. When seeking temporary assistance, these individuals are routinely turned down because their earnings appear "sufficient" on paper, leaving them entirely without a safety net when they need it most.

This is a widespread crisis for single working adults. Countless individuals are ineligible for any form of government assistance due to strict income thresholds that completely ignore local living costs and real-world expenses. Because of this lack of institutional support, the threat of homelessness hangs over millions of workers the moment they face a single financial hiccup or emergency.

Currently, individuals with a 401(k) can only access their own funds under rigid, narrow IRS conditions. The current framework fails to protect workers who, through no fault of their own, suddenly find themselves in severe financial distress. It is time to change these rules to reflect reality.

This petition proposes updating federal rules to allow individuals facing genuine hardships to make withdrawals from their 401(k) accounts without the existing, restrictive pre-set requirements. Providing more flexible access to their own saved money creates a vital safety net. This allows workers in dire situations to cover essential expenses like food, housing, and utilities instead of risking total financial ruin.

Data consistently proves that a massive portion of the workforce lives paycheck to paycheck with little to no emergency savings. Allowing flexible access to one's own retirement savings during a crisis is a common-sense necessity that offers a lifeline when traditional assistance programs fail.

Sign this petition to urge the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate HELP Committee to amend the current restrictions on 401(k) withdrawals. Let's accommodate single working adults experiencing severe hardship who need immediate access to their own money to survive hard times. Please sign and share to demand a stronger, more inclusive financial safety net.