I think 401k withdrawal penalties were suspended due to covid.
The 10% premature withdrawal penalties are suspended. You'll still owe Federal, State and local income taxes on the money. They will have some tax withholding taken from the "cash out" of your 401(k) account, but usually the withholding amount isn't enough to pay the taxes due, particularly as the lump sum could bump you into a higher tax bracket.
Call the Target 401(k) people and find out if you have enough assets in your 401(k) to maintain your money within Target's plan. You might have a high enough balance required to avoid a "cash out". Leaving your money in Target's 401(k) simplifies matters when you join a new employer: you can then initiate a custodian-to-custodian rollover to the "new" 401(k) without incurring transfer-out fees.
You could request a custodian-to-custodian rollover to an IRA at a stock brokerage, credit union or bank. The downside to moving your 401(k) money to another custodian is if you will soon be joining a new employer's 401(k) plan, you might incur a transfer-out (
ACAT) fee from the broker for a custodian-to-custodian transfer to the "new" 401k. You might also hit an IRA closure fee from the bank/broker/credit union. Those ACAT fees could run as high as $100, and another $50 for an IRA closure fee.
Of course, if you want to make your own investment choices, or if your new employer's 401(k) plan is lousy (i.e. high fees, no employer match), you might prefer a stock brokerage IRA. However, for many people a direct rollover from your "old" Target 401(k) plan to your new employer's 401(k) plan is the simplest choice.
