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Prioritize Your Job's 401(k) Benefits Over Their Offers of Student Loan Help
Source Date:
Friday, January 5, 2018
Americans are shouldering around $1.48 trillion in student loan debt, and around 70% of college students who earn a bachelor’s degree borrow to attend college, according to research from Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm that focuses on banking. An employee benefit that’s gaining popularity could help ease that burden, but it may not be as good of a deal as employees think.
Employers like Aetna, Fidelity, and Penguin Random House now contribute money to their employees’ student loan payments each month. The payments are structured differently at each company: some are lump sums, like $100 per month toward the principal repayment, while others are capped at a certain amount per year. Other companies offer a matching contribution, like a traditional 401(k). It may not seem like a ton of cash, but that $100 per month payment makes a huge difference, as Oliver Wyman reports: