If the shutdown persists formore than 6 months during an employee's final 3 years of servicebefore retirement, leaving the employee in a nonpay status for thatamount of time, it will affect the final amount of retirement pay.(Photo: Shutterstock)

And the hits just keep on coming.

Federal employees who aren't being paid during the governmentshutdown, whether because they're furloughed or because they'reworking without pay, will experience not just the immediatechallenge of making ends meet without money but also feel theeffects down the road in retirement.

While those already retired will continue to receive retirementpay, according to MyFederalRetirement.com, those who were in the processof retiring might experience delays in the processing of theirapplications, since the Office of Personnel Management may needdata from other agencies that are not operating during theshutdown.

If the shutdown persists for more than 6 months during anemployee's final three years of service before retirement, leavingthe employee in a nonpay status for that amount of time, it willaffect an employee's “high-3 average pay” and thus the final amountof retirement pay, although if the term is less than 6 months therewill be no effect.

And while some will have to wait for the government to reopen tobe paid, others will have to wait for Congress to authorize pay forthe duration of the shutdown period and still others (such ascontractors) will receive no pay at all for the shutdown.

Then there's the little matter of whether all deductions can bemade from a paycheck. More information about the priority of an employee's deductions can befound here, since there's a real possibility that a partialcheck won't cover all an employee's obligations.

The good news is that retirement takes priority—although healthinsurance premiums fall a bit lower down on the list, after SocialSecurity, Medicare and federal income tax deductions.

But there's also the problem with mortgages, which can have animpact on those workers who might be counting on home equity to seethem through retirement, or who are in the process of selling orbuying in preparation for retirement.

According to Zillow, among the 800,000 or so workers who arecurrently not being paid during the shutdown (about 380,000 arefurloughed and another 420,000 are working without pay), totalhousing obligations amount to about $249 million in monthlymortgage payments and about $189 million for rent.

Not only is that a large chunk of change, but the shutdown ishaving an impact on FHA and Rural Housing Service loans. Zillowsays that “as many as 39,000 mortgages could have been affected bytoday” and notes that the FHA also won't insure reversemortgages or home-improvement loans during the shutdown.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also affected by administrativedelays, which could cause loans to be denied and stall or evenupend plans on both seller and buyer sides. And if worse came toworst, some could actually suffer foreclosure.

“Like Americans in the private sector, many federal employeesrely on each and every paycheck to cover critical expenses,including housing,” Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas says inthe report.

Terrazas adds, “In many parts of the country, housingaffordability is already stretched and a single missed payment canbegin the long process toward foreclosure or eviction—which haslong-term impacts on an individual's finances and long-termeconomic prospects.”

Including retirement.