There are hundreds of financial wellness products and programs available to employers. The majority of these are online platforms designed to improve employee financial literacy through financial coaching, budgeting tools, refinancing/loans, early wage access, and even online learning portals. All of this as a way to reduce employee financial stress.
Things are More Expensive Today
Compared to 20 years ago, consumer goods and services are significantly more expensive. Things such as healthcare costs, child care, and college tuition are 200% more expensive today than at the end of the 20th century. No wonder employees are feeling financial stress.
Millennials are Struggling the Most
Financial planning conventions for Baby Boomers would be terrible advice for Millennials. The concept of working at a company for thirty years and retiring with a pension is unheard of today.
And Millennials may be the hardest-hit generation. Their plan of attending college on students loans backfired when they graduated in the middle of the Great Recession. Now, Millennials are at age to get married, have children, and start a family, yet many of them have put that off due to financial instability stemming from debt such as their student loans.
One Financial Wellness Tool to Rule Them All
Offering a student loan assistance program addresses the largest need for the majority of the workforce. Many employees in their 20s and 30s haven’t taken on mortgages or started to save for retirement. Their primary pain is a monthly student loan payment.
By offering assistance with those student loan payments–either through concierge counseling to find a lower repayment plan or through employer-provided contributions–employees will have a larger monthly budget to put money towards their 401(k) or save for a down payment on a house using other financial goal setting/planning tools.
The Student Loan + 401(k) Benefit
When companies abandoned their pensions, 401(k) plans took their place.
When college tuition rose and caused a student loan debt crisis, student loan payments took priority over saving for retirement.
Now, there are plans to bring the two together. The IRS plans to put guidelines around tying retirement contributions for employees with student loan payments.
IonTuition was the first-to-market student loan assistance program and we’ve stood the test of time. We’re the most comprehensive student loan financial wellness product. Contact us to learn how IonTuition can complete your benefits package.