Shutdown Prep Checklist: 15 Money Moves Before October 1

Last Updated: July 19, 2026 Reading Time: 7 min

The House has passed 3 of 12 appropriations bills. The Senate has passed none. Three funding lapses in the past 12 months add up to 123 days without pay for parts of the workforce, and October 1 is ten weeks out. The r/fednews thread trading hardship-loan tips hit 1,050 upvotes this week, which tells you what feds are actually worried about. This is the money-mechanics checklist, with the program terms verified. Download the printable PDF checklist here.

The Checklist

Cash flow (do these first)

1. Price your real gap. Your shortfall is your net paycheck, not your salary. Run the Federal Take-Home Pay Calculator to get your actual per-check number, multiply by the checks you could miss.

2. Build the 30-day floor. One month of net pay in a liquid account covers the typical lapse. The 2025 shutdown ran 43 days; aim higher if you can.

3. List your must-pay dates. Mortgage/rent, insurance, childcare, minimum debt payments, in calendar order. You are triaging for the gap between last paycheck and back pay, not forever.

Credit union programs (register BEFORE the deadline)

4. Navy Federal members: pre-register now. The 0% Paycheck Assistance Program pays one disbursement equal to your most recent direct deposit (up to $10,000 by deposit tier). Registration happens in the NFCU app and closes one business day before your scheduled pay date. Members who enrolled for the January 2026 window stay enrolled. Repayment auto-debits when back pay lands. Federal contractors paid directly by the government also qualify, which is rare.

5. USAA members: confirm your direct deposit. The 0% loan ($500 to $6,000, one net paycheck) requires at least one qualifying federal direct deposit into USAA within the 30 days before the shutdown starts. You cannot join the day it begins. USAA moved $466M to 133,000+ members during the 2025 lapse.

6. No NFCU/USAA? Line up an alternative now. PenFed (0%, up to $6,000, direct-deposit members), Congressional FCU ($10,000 at 0% in 2025), US Senate FCU ($5,000 at 0%, and any fed can join through affiliated organizations). Opening the account and moving your deposit takes weeks, not days.

Debt and obligations

7. Get hardship policies in writing before you need them. Most major mortgage servicers offered forbearance in 2025; car lenders and card issuers ran skip-a-pay programs. One call now beats ten calls during the panic.

8. Draft the creditor letter. A two-paragraph note citing the lapse in appropriations and the back-pay guarantee, ready to send. Landlords respond better to paper than to silence.

9. Stop feeding non-essential autopay. Streaming, subscriptions, extra principal payments: pause anything that drains the buffer automatically.

TSP strategy

10. Know the loan rules. New TSP loans are allowed during furlough (2019 FRTIB rule). Existing loan payments pause automatically and reamortize when pay resumes. A TSP loan at ~4.5% interest paid back to yourself beats every credit card.

11. Skip the hardship withdrawal. Taxes plus the 10% penalty consume 30 to 40 percent. It's the most expensive money in the building.

12. Back pay is the law. GEFTA (2019) guarantees retroactive pay for furloughed and excepted employees, and Congress wrote explicit reaffirmation into the February 2026 bill after OMB floated a contrary reading. Contractors get nothing under GEFTA; that fight is still in Congress.

13. Unemployment: file late, save everything. Furloughed (not excepted-working) employees can file UCFE in their duty-station state. Every state that has published guidance (VA, MD, DC, CA, NJ) claws the benefit back once back pay arrives. Rational play: file around day 8 only if the lapse looks long, park the money, repay from back pay.

14. Excepted vs. furloughed changes your options. Excepted employees working without pay generally cannot claim UCFE and keep accruing leave; furloughed employees can claim and don't accrue. Know which letter you're getting.

15. FEHB and FEGLI continue either way. Premiums accumulate and come out of back pay. Nobody loses health coverage because of a lapse.

What This Actually Costs You

FedTools 2026 analysis, GS-12 Step 5, Rest of U.S. locality: each 30 days of lapse is about $5,400 in missed net pay. A repeat of the 43-day October 2025 shutdown is a $7,700+ hole, which is more than most feds hold in liquid savings outside the TSP. The programs above exist because the math is ugly; the deadline mechanics mean the prep has to happen while there's still a paycheck flowing.

For the appropriations state of play, see the October 2026 shutdown outlook. For furlough law, excepted status, and agency contingency plans, the complete shutdown guide has the background.

Calculate Your Paycheck Gap

Use the free Federal Take-Home Pay Calculator to find your real per-check number, then size your buffer against a 43-day lapse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which banks offer 0% shutdown loans to federal employees?

Navy Federal (0%, up to your most recent direct deposit, pre-registration required in the app by one business day before your pay date), USAA (0%, $500 to $6,000, requires a qualifying direct deposit within 30 days before the shutdown), and PenFed (0%, up to $6,000). Congressional FCU and US Senate FCU ran $10,000 and $5,000 programs in 2025.

Do I get back pay after a shutdown?

Yes. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 guarantees retroactive pay for furloughed and excepted federal employees. Congress reaffirmed it with explicit language in the February 2026 spending bill. Contractors are not covered.

Does my TSP match catch up after a shutdown?

No. This is the most common misconception. The agency automatic 1% and matching contributions for missed pay periods are permanently lost. They do not backfill when pay resumes. Employee contributions simply pause and resume.

Should furloughed employees file for unemployment?

Only if the shutdown looks long. Every state will demand repayment of unemployment benefits once back pay arrives, and for shutdowns under about three weeks the first check may not arrive before it ends. If you file, treat it as a cash-flow loan and keep the money aside for repayment.

Can I take a TSP loan during a furlough?

Yes. A 2019 FRTIB rule explicitly allows new TSP loans during a shutdown furlough. Existing loan payments pause automatically and the loan is reamortized when pay resumes. A TSP loan is almost always better than a hardship withdrawal, which loses 30 to 40 percent to taxes and penalties.

Sources: Navy Federal shutdown program, USAA shutdown program, PenFed furlough relief, GEFTA, S.24 116th Congress, TSP Bulletin 25-2, state UCFE guidance (VA, MD, CA, NJ), CRFB FY2027 appropriations watch. Program terms verified July 19, 2026; confirm current terms with each institution before relying on them.