For most companies, a large portion of your employee pool will contain those who have student loan debt. In fact, according to Pew Research, around 4-in-10 adults under the age of 30 carry this burdensome debt. While it is probably not possible for you to bestow enough money upon every employee in your company to pay off all their student loans, there are other ways you can help out your employees with this financial burden. The good news is that student loan assistance doesn’t have to be a heavy burden on your company’s finances either. There are creative methods you can use to assist your employees financially.
Why And How You Should Help
First off, why should you bother assisting your employees with their student loan debt? There are a few reasons. One reason is that when your employees are struggling financially to make ends meet, they will be extremely stressed. This stress can lead to illness and poor performance at work. By helping lower their levels of financial stress, you can free them up to focus on work and the enjoyment of their life.
Another benefit of helping out your employees with their student loan debt is that they will be less likely to take on another job. Many people who are burdened with student loans wind up taking on multiple side hustles. When your employees are forced into a financial situation where they need to work a second job, you won’t be getting their best work anymore. Exhaustion will set in and their motivation will decline.
Lastly, a company that shows they care about their employees is more likely to attract and retain talent. Not only that, but you will be doing good for those who have endeavored to better themselves through education. So if you want to help, what can you do? Check out these creative ways of assisting those in your company who need a financial boost.
Host Financial Workshops
One way you can assist your employees is through financial workshops. You can either host these events at your workplace or find local events that your employees can attend. Offer to allow your employees to take time off from work to go to a financial workshop if it is off-site. If you are hosting it at your workplace, then allow employees to attend while on the clock so you do not penalize them for going.
Financial workshops can focus on budgeting, student loan repayment, and other relevant topics. These events will help your employees take control of their financial future and will allow them to feel less overwhelmed by their debt. Many students graduate college and face massive student loan payments 6 months later. They may feel completely alone with this issue and without any help. This lack of assistance can cause an intense amount of stress in the lives of your employees. By offering something as simple as professional advice, you can help bolster their confidence in their financial future.
Bring In Lunch Weekly
This is a small one, but it can still have a great impact on your employee’s finances. Every week, provide a lunch at your workplace. This will alleviate the cost of one meal each week, which in turn will be 52 weeks of savings. While this might not seem like a lot, even 10 dollars here and 10 dollars there can make a difference for someone who is paying off debt.
Not only will this provide an added boost to your employees’ pocketbooks, but it can also serve as a method for helping with your company culture. You can even pair workshops with your weekly lunch, allowing your employees to dine and learn all at zero cost to them.
Provide Tax Counseling
When tax season arrives, your employees with student loans might be missing out on big tax breaks they could be taking advantage of. A practical way you can assist your staff is by providing professional tax counseling services. Allow employees to meet with tax specialists in the office so that they can better take advantage of existing tax deductions and credits.
This will be particularly beneficial if you employ a lot of your staff straight out of college. They might not have experience filing taxes and this daunting task could leave them feeling worse about their finances than before. By giving them access to a tax professional, you can ensure they don’t feel overwhelmed when it comes time to file.
Cover Healthcare
A big burden that many Americans face is the rising costs of health care. If at all possible, provide your employees with coverage at little to no cost to them. By ridding your employees of the stress of affording health care, you can free up their finances to pay back their student loans faster.
Not only will providing outstanding health care coverage to your employees help alleviate their financial burden, but it will also act as a great means of attracting the top talent in the industry. When you put together a quality benefits package, prospective employees will take note and you will be able to be choosier in your acquisition of new staff.
Create Incentive Programs
Another way you can assist your employees financially is to implement a variety of incentive programs. For example, you could create an incentive program revolving around healthy lifestyle choices. By completing different tasks each week, your employees can earn gift cards to local restaurants or coffee shops. This will do two important things at once. It will lead to healthier employees in the workplace and it will provide a financial boost for those who choose to partake in the program.
Offer Student Loan Assistance
Finally, a huge way you can help out employees who are struggling with student loan debt is to participate in a student loan assistance program. By providing a voluntary benefit to your employees that contributes to paying off their student debt, you can help them move out of the cycle of debt and into a bright financial future. This benefit is simple to offer and will go a long way in attracting the best talent in your area.
Here at IonTution, we make it easy for companies like yours to provide assistance to employees with student loans. Your staff members can opt-in, should they so desire, and receive financial help each month towards their student debt. Our platform takes it even further and provides your employees with an easy-to-use program for scheduling automatic payments. It also will allow your employees to speak with financial counselors who can assist them in finding the best refinancing options on the market. If you are interested in offering student loan assistance at your business, please reach out to talk to us today.