<prompt> Human: Hi Folks:I have a daughter entering college this fall. I have no debts except a huge mortgage on a house with little or no equity. No savings. I probably wont be retiring for at least ten years. My main retirement is in a Vanguard IRA which has done well and is a bit over a million. I also have a smaller 401K at work with about 200,000 in it. I can borrow up to half of that. I dont know what the interest rate on borrowing would be. It would need to be paid off within ten years of borrowing. I will no longer be contributing to the IRA but do contribute 5 each year to the 401K. I cannot pay for her college as I go, my salary is not enough. I need to pay for her tuition and room and board out of either the IRA, or by borrowing against the 401K. The total college costs will be about 125,000. Can you folks who know a lot more than me let me know which of these two picks is better for my retirement in the long run? Thanks!  <response>: The best thing for your retirement is not to borrow from your IRA or 401k at all.Have you filed FAFSA yet? If not, you need to do this immediately. Your daughter may be eligible for a number of different grants and federal student loans.Next, I think you need to seriously reconsider the idea of paying 125,000 for your daughters education. I cant think of any undergraduate program thats worth that kind of money out-of-pocket... especially when you have no dedicated savings and have to borrow the entire cost.Assuming your daughter has already committed to this school for the fall, I think you need to sit down and have a conversation about sharing the cost. It would be very easy for her to take that education for granted if shes not contributing anything towards it financially. Does she even know how much this will cost?Note: Federal student loans in your daughters name would have significantly lower interest rates than student loans in your name. Right now, Direct Loan interest rates are 3.81 and may be partially subsidized based on your FAFSA information. I think it would be in your best interest to max out her federal loan options and grants before considering Parent PLUS Loans or a 401k loan. You could also talk to your daughter about working a part-time job to help pay for some of her living expenses. 