One year after first announcing our landmark student loan employee benefit Freedom 2 Save, more than 1,000 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû employees have signed up, representing a projected average of three years shaved off their loan periods and saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest.
If these workers use Freedom 2 Save for 10 years, with a starting salary of $70,000, they would also accumulate about $54,000 into their 401(k) accounts*, without making any contribution of their own.Â
91ÉçÇø¸£Àû's Freedom 2 Save program enables 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû employees with student loans to divert the 2% minimum contribution they'd normally have to contribute to their 401(k)s to receive a 5% match to pay off their loans faster. When they show that they're using at least 2% of their eligible pay to whittle down loans, the company kicks in with a 5% contribution to their 401(k) accounts – without them having to contribute a dime.
The employees who've signed up so far range from their early 20s to their 60s. The average amount of student loan debt held is $38,000, but the most anyone holds is over $300,000.
We know this financial concern is top of mind for most college graduates. A survey 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû conducted with the global research firm YouGov showed us that 9 out of 10 college students with student loans are looking for a company with a student loan perk. Additionally, 6 in 10 working adults with student loans would consider switching companies to gain a student debt employee benefit.
"We had listened to our own employees and recruits in the U.S., but we were interested in hearing what people outside of 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû with student loans were thinking," said 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû Executive Vice President of Human Resources Steve Fussell. "What we learned was this issue matters more than we even knew."
The survey of 2,600 U.S. adults also revealed:
• 64% of all adults with student loans say finding a company that offers a student loan benefit is important
• 42% of adults with student loans aren’t saving for retirement due to their student loans, including half of people with student debt ages 18-34 and a third of those over 55
• And three-fourths of Black and Hispanic Americans with student loan debt say finding an employer with a student debt employee benefit is important – half of them say it’s "very important"
About 4% of companies today offer a cash reward to help employees with student loans today – and one-third of employers are expected to follow suit by 2021.
91ÉçÇø¸£Àû found its structure to be more valuable for employees in the long run because the investment is worth more over time, as it grows tax-deferred; it is not taxed immediately as cash rewards are; and there are no strings attached –  no waiting period and no cap to the amount of the contribution.
Others have expressed interest in copying our innovative program structure. 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû is currently the only company we know of with a private letter ruling from the IRS to structure our program in this unique way. But  in legislature – with bipartisan support – that would make the 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû model accessible to more companies.  has also lobbied the IRS to expand its ruling to broaden it to other companies.
To learn more about benefits at 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû, visit our Benefits Website.
* assuming 3% annual merit increases and 6% market return
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