"[I]n the fourth quarter of 2012, there was a 28 percent increase in the number of people taking loans out from their 401(k) ... [T]he average new loan balances increased to $7,126 from those taken out in the fourth quarter of 2011 -- a 7% increase from $6,662. Of the participants who took out loans, the greatest percentage were to people in their 50s (34.2%), followed by those in their 60s (28.9%) and then by those in their 40s (27.3%). The increase among participants in their 50s was nearly double the increase among those under 30."  MORE >>