Recruiting

Reduce Major Employee Stress with Student Loan Assistance

Like countless other “essential employee benefits” you’ve heard of over the years, student loan assistance sounds like a good idea. But you’re probably wondering: Is this one going to last? Based on the results of a recent survey, all signs point to yes.

There are 40 million Americans with student loan debt, bringing the total U.S. student debt burden to more than $1.3 trillion. Employees with student loans are stressed about repayment, and their employers are taking notice.
IonTuition surveyed individuals who were currently employed and influenced hiring decisions within their company, and were asked to share their perspective on student loan repayment assistance programs, meaning that their employer makes a contribution toward repayment of an employee’s existing student loan debt as an employee benefit.
Nearly all respondents believed employees with student loans would take advantage of this benefit and that such a benefit would improve employees’ morale, productivity, and general well-being, while providing the company with a talent recruitment and retention advantage. Respondents also believed employees would appreciate the convenience of making their student loan payment via payroll deductions.
Additional findings from the survey include:

  • Stress test: More than 90% of respondents surveyed recognize that student loan debt creates stress for employees. Approximately 80% believe this financial stress decreases employee productivity.
  • Show me the benefits: More than half of respondents say that prospective employees view benefits as the most important aspect of a company, taking priority over company culture, commute, and reputation, when evaluating a job offer. 85% of respondents think employees would take advantage of a student loan repayment assistance benefit.
  • Attract and retain: Nearly 80% of respondents believe offering a student loan repayment program would support talent recruitment. Also, 70% of respondents believe that offering such a program would improve employee retention and morale.
  • Plan for the future: Student loan assistance helps employees save and plan for the future. Nearly 75% of respondents think that employees contribute less money to their 401(k) because of their student loans. Nearly 85% of respondents stated that employees would enjoy the option of making their student loan payments via automatic payroll deductions.

Though not surprising, survey data also revealed that Millennials, the generation with the most student loan debt, value a higher education degree and student loan benefits more than older generations. As more Millennials make their way into management, their values will begin to shape organizational benefits and culture.
As more college students graduate with massive student loan debt, it comes as no surprise that they highly value student loan assistance as a benefit. If you want to take advantage of the talent coming out of colleges these days, making student loan assistance a part of your package really helps.
Tomorrow, another survey that shows how attractive student loan assistance is to potential hires.

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