In my country (New Zealand), you can withdraw all except NZ$1000 from your retirement savings (usually only available at 65), if you are a first home buyer, to help you get into the market.
In the US you can borrow against something like $50k of it, but you do need a payment plan (with interest) IIRC. And you have account minimums and its only for certain purposes... etc. Thankfully our 401ks are safe from this for now.