I turned 54 in early January 2017 before I was laid off work January 27, 2017. I was at the company for 14 years. I took money out of my 401K to pay my mortgage, bills and insurance. My wife is not working and she was over the age of 55 at the time of my separation. Can I use the early distribution exemption for separation with my employer to waive the 10% tax penalty? I've already paid the mandatory 20% tax plus an extra 2% when I withdrew my funds.
