However, whether she can do so without other restrictions depends on her company's plan. Some let employees make "in-service withdrawals" from their 401(k) accounts if they are over 59 1/2 but still working. Other companies do not, meaning our reader would need to take out a 401(k) loan to get her money.

"But after having to pay a loan origination fee, is she going to be better off taking out one loan to pay off another? That's going to be case-by-case, depending on the details of her plan," Jeff says.

He stressed that this advice is the opposite of what he would recommend to someone still in her 30s. In cases like that, he says, he encourages other methods to eliminate debt, because he would not want her to establish the bad habit of not contributing to, or taking loans from, her 401(k).

"At 30 or 35, someone like that, they've got enough time that the 401(k) could be huge for them," Jeff says. "But this individual, we've got to kind of concede defeat on the 401(k)."

Jeff says he hopes our reader has other sources of income to help her once she retires.

"There's no magic here," he says. "She's got a debt of $24,000. The debt at this point is probably the bigger deal for her. There's no way she can avoid that debt. She's got to pay it back, and she's got to get it paid off as soon as she can."

This should reinforce to everyone the importance of saving for retirement from an early age and avoiding 401(k) loans or withdrawals.

For our reader, I hope Jeff's advice helps, and that you are able to pay off your debt and still have an excellent retirement. Please drop me a line to let me know what you decide to do.

If you have a financial question, send it to gkratz@desnews.com or to the Deseret News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.

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E-mail: gkratz@desnews.com