Is Student Loan Assistance a Good Employee Benefit? 💭

[Fit Small Business | ]( HR Insights from Our Experts [ Is Student Loan Assistance a Good Employee Benefit? 💭] Welcome to this week's HR newsletter. We’re so happy to have you!     Student Loan Debt: How It Impacts Employee Productivity   Millions of US workers are struggling to pay off their student loan debt. And worrying about their personal finances has become one of the major stressors in their daily lives. It has even affected their ability to do well at work. Nearly half (45%) of the 3,000+ employee respondents to an employee benefits survey by Ramsey Solutions say that they’ve been [distracted at work in the last year due to financial problems](. More than one-third of the respondents also reported having missed work because of this.         What Can Employers Do To Help?   Offering a loan repayment program as a benefit can help workers struggling with student loan debt to manage their finances. In fact, more companies are including this as part of their financial wellness benefits. Findings from a 2022 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute show that 44% of its 250 respondents (made up of employers with 500 and more workers) are [currently offering a student loan payment program]( tied to their 401(k) contributions—five percentage points higher than the previous year. Additionally, 13% of respondents plan to offer a similar benefit in the next one to two years. If you don’t want to come up with your own financial assistance program, consider partnering with a payroll software provider that grants access to one. We recommend Paychex, specifically its payroll tool, Paychex Flex, which offers short-term loans to employees in addition to standard benefits plans, such as retirement and health insurance. [Visit Paychex Flex]( Millions of US workers are struggling to pay off their student loan debt. And worrying about their personal finances has become one of the major stressors in their daily lives. It has even affected their ability to do well at work. Nearly half (45%) of the 3,000+ employee respondents to an employee benefits survey by Ramsey Solutions say that they’ve been [distracted at work in the last year due to financial problems](. More than one-third of the respondents also reported having missed work because of this.         Student Loan Assistance Options   While providing a loan debt payment program is an obvious choice, there are a few other student loan assistance options that you can consider. Here are some examples: - Contribution matching: Similar to a 401(k) plan, employees can contribute part of their earned wages to pay off student loans, and employers can match the contributions. - Recurring payouts: This option allows employees to set up recurring deductions from their pay, and employers can send these debt payouts directly to the lender. - Trading bonus amounts or vacation days: With this program, employees can use their bonus as a lump sum payment to student loans. You can also allow workers to convert unused vacation days at year-end into an equivalent cash amount, which can be used to pay off student loans. - Loan repayment subsidy: Employers can choose to reimburse a portion of the student loan or the entire amount. While it can get expensive on the part of the employer (depending on how big the student loan debt is), this is a great way of attracting and retaining qualified employees. You can even select which courses are covered for specific job roles. - Student loan counseling and education: Provide sessions with financial experts who can help workers know more about managing day-to-day finances given their student loan debts. Regardless of which option you choose, you should conduct a study on how a student loan assistance plan will affect your company’s financial resources. Plus, managing this benefit can also be complicated, so it’s best that you iron out all the details—from identifying how much will be covered to assigning a point person who will handle the administrative part of the plan. If you need help creating this assistance package, check out our guide to [setting up an employee benefits program](.         [Best Human Resources Software (Updated for 2023)](   The right HR software solution can help optimize processes by automating manual tasks, organizing employee records, and building data-driven reports. Moreover, advanced HR software solutions enable better workforce planning, financial forecasting, and strategic decision-making. We reviewed more than 30 top HR software solutions and narrowed it down to the best of the best. [Read Now](     What’s new in HR? Check out some of our latest HR content:   [Different Ways to Pay Employees]( Did you know that aside from the traditional options of paying employees via check, cash, and direct deposits, there are some alternative methods of doing this? Check out our guide for everything you need to know about employee payments. [READ MORE]( [10 Types of Management Styles]( Management styles refer to the manner in which managers and leaders handle their teams, communicate with employees, make decisions, and exercise authority. In this guide, we tackle and compare the characteristics of 10 management styles—from autocratic to transactional and servant leadership. [READ MORE](     Meet Fit Small Business’ HR & Payroll Experts   [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( Throughout her career, Heather has worked to help hundreds of small business owners manage many aspects of their business, from bookkeeping to accounting to HR. Her experience has allowed her to learn firsthand the payroll needs of small business owners. [Heather Landau]( [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( Jen has more than 20 years of writing and content experience, working with small businesses and Fortune 100 companies. She worked as an HR generalist for over a decade, providing accounting, payroll, and HR expertise. [Jennifer Soper]( [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( Robie is a payroll and HR expert at Fit Small Business, focusing on software. She has over eight years of content writing experience, handling different topics. Robie also worked as an HR specialist for 10 years where she managed various facets of HR—from payroll and benefits to employee services and HR systems. [Robie Ann Ferrer]( [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( Juvy has more than 10 years of experience writing product reviews and providing online content for small businesses. Juvy was also a college instructor. She believes that her teaching background, writing experience, and supportive team members are crucial in providing the best answers to readers. [Juvy Vallescas]( [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( Genevieve has more than 13 years of writing experience, working with different clients in various industries. She has ghostwritten several books and ebooks on marketing and leadership. Genevieve also worked as an HR Head of a local manufacturing company and has helped small businesses set up their business and HR processes. [Genevieve Que](     Want to learn what benefits are in demand right now? Watch out for next week’s HR newsletter to find out which ones employees want the most! Until next time, Heather Landau, Jennifer Soper, Robie Ann Ferrer, Juvy Vallescas, and Genevieve Que   For more quality resources on growing your small business: [Marketing]( | [Financing]( | [Accounting]( | [HR]( | [Retail]( | [Ecommerce]( | [Sales]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Alternate text] Want to change what you receive in your inbox? [Update Your Preferences]( [Image]   We spend hours researching and writing our articles and strive to provide accurate, up-to-date content. However, our research is meant to aid your own, and we are not acting as licensed professionals. We recommend that you consult with your own lawyer, accountant, or other licensed professional for relevant business decisions. 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