“Can I borrow against my ASRS account?” is a common question. Unfortunately, the answer is no. The ASRS does not permit for members to take a loan from their account. This may not be the case for Defined Contribution plans, such as a 401(k) or 457(b), which typically allow account holders to borrow against the balances in some fashion.
If you're wondering when you have access to funds in your ASRS account, it's either (a) when you retire, or (b) if you decide to terminate your ASRS employment.
Evaluating Retirement
Even if you think retirement is way off in the distance, this is a good starting point if you're weighing your options. Check our Retirement Eligibility page and look at the rules for reaching normal retirement and early retirement, and get an idea of how far away you really are - it may not be as off in the distance as you think. Log into your secure myASRS and run a retirement estimate, to see how much you might get as a lifetime benefit. Even if you leave employment and are no longer an ASRS contributing member, you can leave your money with the ASRS and wait until you are eligible for a retirement benefit in the future. Talking to one of our Retirement Specialists can give you an idea of what that scenario would look like based on your account details.
You may still decide that refunding your account is your preferred option if you terminate your ASRS employment, but at least you'll be aware of all your options beforehand.
Terminating ASRS employment
If you are no longer working for an ASRS employer, you can request a refund of your funds. Termination of employment and withdrawal of funds offers three distribution options: direct payment to yourself, rollover into another qualified retirement plan, or a combination of direct payment and rollover. If you decide to take a direct payment, be aware that your refund will incur taxes. The majority of ASRS contributions are collected pre-tax, so taxes are paid either when you begin to collect money in retirement, or when you refund your account. To get a general idea of what this can look like, take a look at this infographic example. You can also get more information on our Refunding page.
If you are interested in opening an additional savings account that will allow you to borrow against it in the future, visit our Supplemental Savings page to see what plans we make available to members, or check with your employer to see what additional plans may be available to you.
By Nathaniel Brengle, Strategic Communications
Updated February, 2023
