New Nonprofit Employee Incentive
More nonprofit companies are realizing the financial stress facing student loan borrowers. And some have taken note of the latest trends and added benefits programs to help pay down student loans, making them more able to attract top candidates.
The latest student loan debt statistics indicate that there are more than 44 million borrowers who collectively owe $1.5 trillion in student loans. Student loans are now the second largest consumer debt category after mortgages. About 65% of college graduates from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2017 had student loan debt, according to the Project on Student Debt. Borrowers owed an average of $28,650.
To attract and retain recent graduates, in particular, companies are expanding their employee benefit programs to help reduce student loan debt for their employees. Vacation time, 401k plans and health insurance are great, but what recent graduates really want is help repaying their student loan debt, making student loan repayment is the hottest employee benefit of 2018 according to several sources.
With Florida’s overall low unemployment, organizations find themselves competing for top talent as they hire new employees. Student-debt relief benefits have proved useful both to attract new employees and retain existing ones.
The sooner the debt is paid off, of course, the less interest builds over time. Programs that cut into the outstanding student loan balance are of great benefit. Today’s reality is that most grads really need to think about paying off student loans minutes after they take off their cap and gown.
Sources: Zack Friedman, Personal Finance and
Miami Herald Amanda Rosa and Susan Tompor
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/biz-monday/article230915588.html#storylink=cpy
Learn more about human resources in the Certificate in Nonprofit Management class on July 20.