Many federal and postal employees consider taking out a loan from

their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account to perhaps use as a

down payment on a new home, to remodel their current home, to pay off high

interest debt,  or to use in a financial emergency. 

But is a TSP loan a good idea?

What will it cost you in the long run?  Will it jeopardize your future

retirement income?   And, if so, by how much?

In response to many requests on this topic from My Federal

Retirement readers, below are  some helpful articles and a link to the

TSP loan calculator that will assist you in making a decision.

- href="http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/299.cfm"> What

Federal Employees Should Consider About a href="http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/299.cfm">TSP

Loan by federal benefits expert, Ed Zurndorfer. 

- href="http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/134.cfm">Important regulations

 on repaying href="http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/299.cfm">TSP

loans that are often overlooked 

- Types

of TSP loans available to you 

- 6 key href="http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/131.cfm">rules for

borrowing from your TSP 

- Other href="http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/130.cfm">considerations

provided by the TSP 

face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Helpful

Calculators

face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">href="https://www.tsp.gov/planningtools/loan/loan.shtml"

target=_blank>TSP Loan Calculator

The target=_blank>TSP Loan Calculator on the Thrift Savings Plan website

estimates loan payments based on the amount you want to borrow from your TSP

account, the current loan interest rate, and other factors. To borrow from your

TSP account, you must be a federal employee in pay status. If you qualify for a

TSP loan, the maximum amount you may be eligible to borrow is $50,000; the

minimum amount is $1,000.   To access the TSP Loan Calculator, go to:

href="https://www.tsp.gov/planningtools/loan/loan.shtml">https://www.tsp.gov/planningtools/loan/loan.shtml

Bankrate Calculator

BankRate.com has provided a free online calculator that can assist you in

finding out how much money (in terms of growth in your retirement

savings) you'll potentially lose while you are paying off a

loan from your TSP.  (Note:  while this calculator is for a

"401k loan", keep in mind that a 401k savings plan in the private sector is very

similar to the government's Thrift Savings Plan for federal and postal

employees.)

Go here to use Bankrate's calculator:  href="http://www.bankrate.com/elink/calc/401kl.asp">http://www.bankrate.com/elink/calc/401kl.asp