Navigating Student Loans and Retirement Savings: How Companies are Helping Employees Balance Both

Title: New 401(k) Match Programs Help Employees Tackle Student Loan Debt and Save for Retirement

In a recent development, companies like Verizon Communications Inc. are offering a new benefit to help employees like James Bryant balance student loan debt and save for retirement. With the Secure 2.0 Act allowing employers to apply student loan payments toward 401(k) matches, employees are seeing a new opportunity to improve their savings rate.

Bryant, a senior call-center manager, has struggled to save enough to get the full 401(k) match offered by his employer due to student loans, living expenses, and supporting his parents. However, with the new program, he hopes to pay down his debt more aggressively and improve his retirement savings.

While widespread student debt relief efforts have been limited, companies like Verizon, Dow Inc., News Corp., and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. are stepping up to offer this innovative benefit. Despite some companies citing costs as a barrier, the program has been well-received by employees like Christi Houchins, a vice president at Synchrony Financial, who saw it as a way to accelerate her debt repayment and retirement savings.

Although not all employees may need to participate in these programs, companies like Abbott Laboratories have seen positive outcomes for those who do. Mary Moreland, executive vice president of human resources, noted that employees enrolled in their student loan 401(k) match program are more likely to stay with the company.

Overall, the new 401(k) match programs are providing employees with a valuable tool to tackle student loan debt and save for retirement, offering a promising solution to a longstanding financial challenge.