The student loan debt crisis in America continues to be a problem. There is over $1.7 trillion owed in student loan debt, as reported by Melanie Hanson of the Education Data Initiative. There are 43.2 million student borrowers who are in debt with an average close to $40,000. If you owe student loan debt or know someone close to you who does, keep reading.
Business Insider shared that over 50% of borrowers are delaying the purchase of a home because of their student loan debt. Some participants stated they felt they already had a mortgage payment, just without the home. The good news is that companies are getting creative with their benefit packages.
There are a lot of companies out there that provide student loan repayment as an employee benefit. This is a great way to attract top talent for companies but it also builds trust within an organization. This shows that employers care about your future and want to help you with the burden of student loan debt.
Below are 10 companies that can assist you with paying off your student loan debt:
1. Aetna
Aetna, a CVS Health business, is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 46.7 million people with information and resources to help them make better decisions about their healthcare.
Aetna announced in 2016 that they would match employee's U.S. based student loan payments up to $2,000 per year for a lifetime maximum of up to $10,000 for qualifying loans. Aetna also has a generous tuition assistance program with more details located here.
2. Abbott
Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois. Abbott sells medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic medicines and nutritional products.
Abbott's Freedom 2 Save program enables full-time and part-time employees who qualify for the company's 401(k) - and who are also contributing 2% of their eligible pay toward student loans - to receive an amount equivalent to the company's traditional 5% "match" deposited into their 401(k) plans.
3. Chegg
Chegg is the leading student-first connected learning platform. Chegg's Student Hub makes higher education more affordable and more accessible, all while improving student outcomes.
Chegg provides it's employees with the Equity for Education benefit. Under the new Chegg program, entry level employees through manager level, who have at least two years tenure at Chegg will receive up to $5,000 annually. Employees at the Director or Vice-President level are eligible for up to $3,000 annually. This is in addition to $1,000 cash that employees with student debt already receive each year from Chegg. The company also provides an additional $5,250 non-taxed reimbursement for continuing education.
4. Carvana
Carvana offers an intuitive and convenient online car buying, selling, and financing experience.
Carvana will contribute up to $1,000 per year for employees to pay down their student loan debt.
5. First Republic Bank
First Republic Bank puts an emphasis on client satisfaction. They offer a complete range of lending, deposit, investment, trust and brokerage services. Not only that, they care about their employee's future and want to help pay off student loan debt.
Since 2016, First Republic Bank has provided the following student debt repayment assistance:
-$100 per month of loan repayment during the first year of enrollment in the benefit
-$150 per month of loan repayment during the second year of enrollment in the benefit
-$200 per month of loan repayment thereafter while enrolled in the benefit until the debt is repaid.
6. New York Life Insurance Company
New York Life is one of America's largest mutual life insurance companies. They provide insurance, investment and retirement solutions.
In 2017, New York Life partnered with Vault to reduce the financial burden of student loans for eligible employees. Through Vault Pay, New York Life contributes $170 monthly (over 5 years) towards student loans in good standing – which means employees can reduce their debt by up to $10,200 while enrolled.
7. NVIDIA
NVIDIA is a technology company working on some of the hardest problems in the world. From incredible graphics for video games and blockbuster movies, to AI technology for robots and self-driving cars, to accelerated computing to advance the science of healthcare and climatology, NVIDIA technology is addressing a growing list of opportunities.
If you graduated within the past three years, you can apply for reimbursement of $6,000 each year to help repay your student loans, up to $30,000! Read more about this incredible benefit here. You will also find more details about NVIDIA's tuition reimbursement program.
8. Peloton
Peloton is the largest interactive fitness platform in the world, with a loyal community of more than 4.4 million members. Peloton makes fitness entertaining, approachable, effective, and convenient, while fostering social connections that encourage our members to be the best versions of themselves.
Peloton offers tuition reimbursement programs to help team members continue to learn and grow, as well as programs to help them pay off their student loans. If you work here, you could get a $100 per month payment towards your student loan debt.
9. SoFi
SoFi creates modern financial products and services that help people borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect their money better.
SoFi was one of the first companies to offer a student loan repayment perk. They offer employees help with student loan payments to the tune of $200 per month.
10. Weedmaps
Weedmaps is a tech company serving the cannabis industry, founded in 2008. Weedmaps pays out monthly installments towards employees student loan debt - up to $1,000 per year.
How are you feeling in your current role and does your employer provide student loan repayment benefits? If not, we hope this article helped provide some more information for you as we head into the New Year.
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