SALT LAKE CITY — Faced with a squeeze on credit, some small business owners are turning to their retirement funds as a financing option.

A recent online survey of 512 participants by Harris Interactive and ING Direct found that 16% have gone this route. The danger, according to Kent Moon, president/CEO of Member Business Lending LLC, is typically, withdrawals are taxed and an additional early withdrawal fee applies if the retirement account holder is younger than age 59 1/2 Should the business owner's start-up fail, and he or she is not far from retirement age, they won't have much time to regrow their funds, he added.

Meanwhile, not surprisingly, some small business owners have a negative outlook for their companies over the next six months, a recent PNC Economic Outlook survey showed. Twenty-nine percent said they are concerned about the economy's impact. At 74%, higher energy prices were the most common concern followed by recession (71%), and possible inflation (65%). The survey's data also revealed that just 17% plan to hire new employees, and 10% plan to reduce their number of fulltime employees.