Increasingly, individuals comprising today’s workforce are straddled with significant levels of student loan debt. At the same time, these workers are often conflicted as to whether they should focus on paying off their debt or set aside funds to pay for retirement. As an employer, adding a student loan repayment program to your employee benefit portfolio not only helps them address this dilemma, but also represents a tremendous opportunity to help attract and retain key talent.
In today’s competitive job market, it’s not enough to simply offer the traditional benefit portfolios of the past. Showing prospective talent and valued current employees that you care about their financial future by providing student loan repayment assistance goes a long way to help you stand out among your industry peers. And by structuring the program as a part of your voluntary benefits package, you have the ability to customize the program according to your workplace demographics and budgetary capabilities.
With these programs, the employer first decides how much, if any, they are willing to contribute into the program. Then, based on the vendor chosen, the program options include models focusing on refinancing, consolidation or payroll deductions.
Offering a student loan repayment program not only helps students pay down their loan debt quicker and provides them valuable cost savings, but employers benefit since it also helps to reduce the stress and anxiety levels of these employees, boosting their workplace productivity.
The Meadowlands Chamber offers its members access to My Benefit Advisor as a solution for employee benefits, including voluntary offerings. For more information about My Benefit Advisor, visit our website at mc.mybenefitadvisor.com or contact Glynis Roberts at (212) 706-9451.
