You’ve worked super hard throughout college so that you could do your job well, so why aren’t more employers rewarding you for it by helping with your student loans? College educated workers possess the knowledge and skills that employers seek, so shouldn’t the employers be offering incentive for higher education with loan assistance?
National student loan debt is now in the trillions of dollars, and with interest rates also increasing, more and more graduates agree that their employer should be willing and able to assist them with their student loans. The bad news is that roughly less than 5% of employers currently offer some type of student loan payment benefit, but the good news is that its growing in popularity. Companies such as Aetna, Fidelity, and First Republic (to name a few out of the few) offer employees up to a couple thousand dollars a year on top of their salaries that goes directly towards their student loans.
Tuition.io
This highly sought-after benefit may be offered in more and more jobs in the near future, thanks to California based company Tuition.io. Employees who are lucky enough to have the Tuition.io benefit can view their employer’s contributions to their loans through the Tuition.io portal, and can also receive consultation and payment planning help as well. Some companies that offer Tuiition.io to their employees include Chegg, Staples, and Live Nation.
What’s in it for the employers?
Employers who offer this benefit will attract all of the millennial graduates who are experiencing record highs in debt and interest rate payments. These employees have the latest and most relevant education, and could breathe life into a stagnant company with modern innovation and creative insight. In addition to recruiting all of the (non-lazy) millennials, employers will also see increased employee retention. According to a survey from Tuition.io, 86% of employees stated that they would stay with a company for well over 5 years if they were offered student loan assistance. Another common argument in favor of the benefit is increased morale and productivity from employees. Less stress means better work ethic, and if employees know that the hours, they’re working are also helping to shrink their debt, they’ll arguably be more enthusiastic about their jobs.
If your employer doesn’t offer any kind of assistance with your loans, there are still other tactics you can use in order to lower your rates and pay off your loans a bit faster. Consider refinancing your loans. Doing so will reward you with a lower interest rate, as lenders will view you as less of a liability than when you were a student. You should also consider making additional payments when possible in order to expedite reducing your principal amount. If you’re still jealous of employees who do enjoy this benefit, however, be on the lookout for jobs in the future that offer it. Since it’s in such high demand, more and more employers are expected to begin offering this much needed benefit.
This article was written by Sean Ahern.
Sean Ahern, a recent Drexel University MBA graduate, is a jack of all trades. Apart from his passion for writing, he also narrates audio books, produces commercial music, performs stand up comedy, and practices martial arts. Sean prides himself as being a true freelancer, and decries the concept of the 9-5 job (despite writing articles describing various strategies on how to secure such a position).
Sean is currently pursuing a full time career in copywriting as he continues to bolster his portfolio with updated work. Keep an eye out for some of his future writing pieces, or for his name on the marquee of your local comedy club.