This is a common question. The short answer – No. Here’s what we have learned after working with hundreds of employers.
Employees recognize that not all benefits apply to all people. For example, younger workers commonly do not opt into employer health plans because they stay on their parents’ plan until they are 26. Or, workers that live in the city may not take advantage of commuter benefits the same way someone living in the suburbs will. Employers need to decide if the benefit applies to a strategically important portion of the population and be comfortable with the notion that the entire benefits package is designed to have the biggest impact overall, but not necessarily have every benefit apply to every individual.
Anecdotally, we hear from client employees frequently that they love working for a forward-thinking company that recognizes the massive student debt issue in our country and is willing to help. Employees also cite the fact that they are often looking to hire people with student debt as a key reason they believe it’s good for their company to offer student loan assistance – you can hear from one of those employees in this two-minute video.
Have other questions about student loan assistance as an employee benefit? Schedule time with our client services team today.