[Alberta's Child]

Don't cash it in . . . you'll be subject to taxes and penalties on it. Depending on your income tax bracket, you may lose more than 50% of the value.

A better approach might be to take out a loan against the account (you can usually borrow up to 50% of the balance) . . . and then never pay the loan back. This would be even better if the value of those remaining assets decline over time -- since the balance on your loan may end up exceeding the balance in the account and make it impossible for anyone (the IRS or your 401k plan administrator) to recover what you owe.

[Freedom4US]

Why do I have to pay back my own money? And pay myself interest too. I get it, but I don’t really understand that.
Taxes of course, but still.