Dive Brief:
- Despite the college loan payment benefit receiving tons of media exposure, employers aren't exactly clamoring to see who can add the benefit the fastest.
- According to SHRM’s 2016 Employee Benefits report, even though student loan benefits can boost morale and productivity (and millennials love it), just 4% of SHRM members report their organizations offered the benefit in 2016 – a 1% rise since 2015.
- There are 40 million Americans with student loan debt, bringing the total U.S. student debt burden to more than $1.3 trillion, according to federal government estimates. So employers have plenty of opportunities to add this perk as a recruiting and retention tools.
Dive Insight:
Evren Esen, director of SHRM's survey programs, told SHRM editor Stephen Miller that employer-provided student loan payment assistance is still relatively new and can be expensive. On the other hand, Esen expects it to grow, given high rates of student loan debt and it's attractiveness to "younger workers with highly valued skills."
In separate survey findings, SHRM reports that IonTuition, which sells web-based student loan management tools, found that almost every one of the 412 managers it polled said employees with student loans would take advantage of this benefit. They added that it would improve employee morale, productivity and general well-being, while delivering a clear recruitment and retention advantage.