Most qualified plans—such as a 401(k) or 403(b) plan—offer employees the ability to borrow from their own retirement assets and repay that amount with interest to their own retirement account. While most of us would rather not take money from our retirement plans until after we retire, we are sometimes left with no alternative. If you find yourself in a financial bind, you may be considering obtaining a loan to meet your immediate financial needs. The question then is, should you borrow from your retirement plan or should you look into other alternatives? The answer is determined by several factors, which we will review. We'll also look at the general guidelines for plan loans.