For this you might consider a company-sponsored thrift plan, which generally permits withdrawals at the employee's discretion.

Under certain conditions, the new tax law also permits penalty-free withdrawals from I.R.A.'s to pay for higher education.

He would permit tax-free withdrawals before retirement age to pay for education, catastrophic illness, care of an elderly parent or the purchase of a first home.

Unlike money market funds, which can be cashed in throughout the day, some bank loan funds permit withdrawals only once a month or once a quarter.

Mr. Riley's 401(k), like many others, permits withdrawals before age 59 1/2 under "hardship" conditions that include paying for higher education.

The merchant can't be defrauded, their receiving account isn't set up to permit withdrawals other than the nightly sweep into the merchant's main account.

He has also proposed a second type of I.R.A. that would not allow tax-deductible contributions, but would permit tax-free withdrawals of earnings after five years.

The Packwood proposal includes a plan to permit tax-free withdrawals from individual retirement accounts once their owners reach the age of 59 1/2.

In recent years, some companies have been permitting withdrawals of up to 10 percent of the amount invested in the annuity without penalty.

(Some companies permit partial withdrawals without charge.)