The first and foremost advice I would give to anyone would be to get right with God, first.
If you have never given your heart to the Lord, and asked Christ to forgive you and to come into your life, you need to do that right away.
God protects His own, and He will protect you and yours if you belong to Him.
Should people withdraw all their money from IRAs and 401Ks, take the penalty, and put the money.......somewhere?
Again, it depends on you and your situation.
If they are looking for economic security 15, 20, 30 years down the line, I have to say I don't think we have that long. The little graphs your financial advisor sends you might as well be written with a comic book cover.
I also believe that in a real crash, the government will seize IRAs and 401Ks. They will be worth less by that time, of course, but the government will have to choose between theft of the IRAs/401Ks, and the takers rioting in the streets.
Whom do you think Obama will choose?
Right now, 80% of IRA/401K dividends go to the top 20% of income earners. We are not "Obama's people" and we better face that music.
If there is a real, deep, global crash, then banks will close, and all credit will be wiped out. That means, no debit cards or credit cards to pay for things.
In the immediate weeks following a crash, businesses, gas stations, doctor's offices will probably operate on a cash only basis. You should have some cash on hand.
If you go and start withdrawing a large sums every week from your bank, expect a visit from the FBI. That's how it works these days.
The Central Banks and almost every government are now clamoring for the elimination of all paper currency. I believe that will happen, so your paper cash will only have a limited shelf life in the long term. Gold and silver are great hedges to retain wealth, but only if they are in demand. Moreover, they will have some value to "barter" - but I would not put much faith in driving to some black market parking lot someday to trade shavings of gold bars and silver coins from my friendly fellow panicked citizens at 1 am in a trade for food, water, and medicine.
If the crash is initially deflationary, and then turns to hyperinflation (which many predict that it will), then people will be hit across the jaw and then the face. The first will wipe out businesses, commerce, and employment, and the second will enslave all but the elite.
In today's electronic world, they don't even have to wait for the paper to get into circulation. Therefore, the hyperinflation can accelerate at a terrifying rate. Think about it.
My advice would be to have some stored water, food, essential medicines, and alternate light and heat sources on hand that would last you a few days, hopefully a few weeks.
My prediction is that when it collapses, it will take awhile for the "reset" to happen, but in the time interlude before that happens, expect inner city EBT riots, welfare riots, panic, empty grocery shelves, and overall depression among the citizenry.
Have a means to keep your family safe, and pray to God for protection and guidance.