A Guide for HR Leaders

Student Loan Benefits

Employee benefits, student loan debt, and the modern workplace

The problem for employers

The modern workplace is evolving more quickly than ever before — and HR leaders are discovering designing an employee benefits program that can keep up is easier said than done. Today’s employees expect more than just basics like health coverage and retirement, and flashy perks like catered lunches and that ping-pong table in the break room just aren’t cutting it anymore.

The problem for employees

It’s no secret that student debt is a problem. For years, rising tuition costs have pushed students to borrow thousands of dollars in high-interest loans that take decades to pay off — and in the meantime, lock borrowers in a state of constant stress and hold families back from financial security.

And with federal student loan repayment officially back in full swing after a more than three year-long moratorium, borrowers’ stress, confusion, and uncertainty is at an all-time high.

The solution for everyone: student loan employer benefits

So how can employers design a benefits program that really meets the moment — and maximizes ROI? The answer: student loan employer benefits. And with the number of organizations offering these perks trending upwards, it looks like HR leaders are starting to catch on.

Learn more

What you’ll learn in our guide to student loan employer benefits

Why student loan benefits are key to making an impact — across every employee population — at scale
How student loan employer benefits can help meet your business objectives
Why now is the time to take action
How to design a student loan benefit offering that works for you — no matter your budget, timeline, bandwidth, or other requirements
How to get started

Who has student loans? How much student debt do my employees owe?

2 in 3 college attendees

The scale of student loan debt is jaw-dropping. 2 in 3 college-educated Americans leave school with student debt, spanning every generation, profession, gender, and race. ¹

Ranked #2

Student loans are the second most common source of consumer debt, ranking below mortgages and ahead of credit cards. ²

$1.644 trillion

The national student debt balance totals $1.644 trillion, landing borrowers with an average balance just over $40,000. ³

$503

Two-thirds of undergrads leave school with student debt and face monthly payments totaling $503 on average. ⁴

Student debt by generation

Millennials & Gen Z ⁵

Three times as likely to take out $50,000+ in loans than older generations.
80 percent borrowed (or will borrow) to fund their education, compared to just a third of Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers.

Gen X ⁶

Owe the highest average per-borrower balance ($44,240) of any generation.

Baby Boomers ⁷

1 in 5 indebted borrowers is over the age of 50.
Balance owed is growing faster than that of any other age group, driven by Parent PLUS loans borrowed to help their children pay for college.

Average outstanding student debt
owed by age group ⁸

$23.8K

20s

$42.0K

30s

$44.8K

40s

$45.1K

50s

$37.3k

60+

Student debt by degree type

Depending on the typical educational attainment in your organization’s industry, your workforce’s average student debt load can range from bad (around $30,000 borrowed for the average Bachelor’s degree) to worse (well into six figures for advanced professional and medical degrees). ^9-13

Average student debt at graduation by degree type

Figures for advanced degrees do not include student debt accrued from undergraduate or other degrees.

Associate’s

$19,600

Bachelor’s (public)

$27,700

Bachelor’s (private)

$30,800

Master’s

$44,900

MBA

$52,600

MSW

$82,300

PhD

$107,500

JD/LLB

$113,300

$202,450

BSN

$23,711

MSN

$47,321

DDS/DMD

$304,824

Pharm.D

$179,514

DVM/VMD

$183,302

Student debt by gender and race

Women and people of color face greater barriers to financial health, stability, and wealth creation opportunities their whole lives — and borrowing for school is no exception. These groups are more likely to borrow, to owe more, remain in debt for longer, and struggle with repayment than their male and white peers. ¹⁴

Two-thirds of the total national student debt balance is owed by women. ¹⁵
Four years after graduation, 48% of Black students owe an average of 12.5% more than they borrowed, while 83% of white students owe 12% less than they borrowed. ¹⁶

6% of white borrowers are behind on their student loan payments, compared to 20% of Black borrowers and 23% of Hispanic borrowers. ¹⁷

Cumulative debt from women borrowers’ undergraduate loans, one year after graduation ¹⁸

$36,184

Native American/ Alaska Native

$27,606

Asian

$41,466

Black/African American

$29,302

Hispanic/Latina

$38,747

Pacific Islander/Hawaiian

$38,851

White

How does student loan debt impact employees?

Leaves workers on the edge of crisis

1 in 10 Americans has defaulted on a student loan, the consequences for which can take years to recover from. ¹⁹
78% of borrowers are late on at least one payment during their first year of repayment. ²⁰
Half of borrowers report negative mental health impacts due to their student debt. ²¹

Dictates lifestyle and details goals

More than half of borrowers say their student debt has hurt their career goals. ²²
1 in 2 employees with student debt puts off or decides not to go back to school to avoid taking on more debt. ²³
A third of borrowers pay more for student debt than for housing each month. ²⁴
4 in 5 borrowers have delayed life events like marriage, having children, and buying a home due to their student debt. ²⁵

Hinders employee financial wellbeing

Student debt prevents 8 in 10 borrowers from building adequate retirement savings. ²⁶
43% of Millennials put off building an emergency savings fund while repaying their student debt. ²⁷
2 in 3 Black borrowers don’t have a savings account. ²⁸

Why should employers offer student loan benefits? Why now?

After more than three years of a moratorium that began as a pandemic-era relief program, federal student loan repayment has resumed in full swing — a financial turning point that is reigniting the fight to engage, retain, and recruit employees. It’s no secret that employees don’t stop worrying about their personal finances just because they’re on the clock. But with many Americans’ financial stress at an all-time high, offering benefits that address the most common causes of that financial stress — including student debt — is key to keeping employees engaged.

Financial stress drives poor workplace outcomes

4 in 5 HR leaders say workers’ personal financial concerns impact job performance. ²⁹
The absenteeism rate for financially stressed employees is twice that of workers without money worries. ³⁰
Financially stressed employees are twice as likely to look for a new job. ³¹

Student debt drives financial stress

8 in 10 professionals with student loans say their college debt is a source of “significant” or “very significant” stress. ³²
The more student debt a borrower owes, the more likely they are to prioritize pay over job satisfaction, thus driving poor performance and greater turnover. ³³

Student loans benefits are a proven solution

86% of workers say they’d commit to a company for at least five years if they were offered student loan benefits. ³⁴
Three-quarters of workers say student loan tools would increase their commitment to their employer. ³⁵
95% of young professionals say they’d accept a job offer if it included a student loan repayment benefit. ³⁶
Millennials, who will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025, are the most likely to have student debt and the most likely to seek new jobs. ³⁷

How employers can leverage federal programs to reach their own benefits objectives

By offering student loan benefits, employers can play a critical role in maximizing the impact of federal student loan programs – and reach their own business objectives at the same time.

SECURE Act 2.0 student loan retirement matching

For many, saving for the future comes in second to the much more immediate — and daunting — task of paying off student loans. But by allowing employers to match employees’ student debt payments with tax-advantaged retirement plan contributions, SECURE Act 2.0 eliminates the need for borrowers to choose between loan repayment and long-term financial security.

The potential impact of these student loan retirement match programs is huge. After all, a quarter of the 30 million Americans who are eligible for but not enrolled in their employer’s retirement plan cite their student loans as the reason they don’t participate, ³⁸ and even those who are enrolled save significantly less than their non-indebted peers. ³⁹

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) was launched by the ED in 2007 with the promise of canceling borrowers’ remaining federal student debt after they’ve worked in the public sector full-time for ten years. Due to confusing eligibility requirements and a hefty administrative burden, PSLF went severely underutilized for many years until 2021, when the Biden administration kicked off an initiative to reform the program.

This initiative has helped hundreds of thousands of borrowers access PSLF — and receive loan forgiveness — in the years since, and has enabled PSLF-qualifying employers to much more effectively leverage PSLF as a retention and recruitment strategy.

How to design and implement a student loan benefit program

Student loan benefits come in all shapes and sizes – and can be tailored to any budget, industry, or company size. Today’s most in-demand student loan benefits include:

Tax advantaged repayment contributions

Make tax-advantaged contributions of any amount to employees’ student debt repayment, either directly on a regular cadence (monthly, quarterly, annually) or as an incentive through your employee rewards program.

Retirement match programs

Match employees’ student loan payments with tax-advantaged contributions to their employer-sponsored retirement accounts.

Optimization tools

Offer technology solutions and resources that help employees optimize their repayment plan and pay down student debt faster.

Coaching

Connect employees with certified student loan experts to get personalized guidance and help setting goals for repayment and savings.

PSLF solutions

Help employees navigate Public Service Loan Forgiveness while streamlining the administrative process for your team.

Student loan benefit program design ideas

When designing your student loan benefits program, key considerations include:

What are your goals for offering a student loan benefit?

How does a student loan benefit fit in with our other benefits offerings?

Do you want to offer a student loan benefit to everyone, or only to specific employee demographics?

What special considerations about your organization should influence your program design? For example, non-profit and other qualified public service organizations can offer special benefits that help workers qualify for federal student loan forgiveness.

Example program models

A software company offering repayment contributions

Solutions: Student Loan Employer Contributions, Core platform

Eligibility: All employees with student debt

Contribution frequency: Monthly

Contribution amount: $100

A hospital system offering repayment contributions and PSLF solutions

Solutions: Student Loan Employer Contributions, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Coaching, Core platform

Eligibility: All employees with student debt; contribution amount varies by employee tenure

Contribution frequency: Quarterly

Contribution amount:
0-1 years: $200
1-5 years: $400
5+ years: $600

A consumer goods brand offering a student loan retirement match program

Solutions: Student Loan Retirement Match, Core platform

Eligibility: All employees with student debt

Match frequency: Annually

Match amount: Up to 3.5% of employee’s annual salary matched

A public school district offering coaching services and PSLF solutions

Solutions: Coaching, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Core platform

Eligibility: All employees with student debt

Frequency:

All employees: Unlimited access to PSLF and Core platform
Full-time employees: One coaching session per quarter
Part-time employees: One coaching session per calendar year

Working within budget constraints to design a student loan benefit program

Common strategies for tailoring your student loan benefit to your budget include:

Offerings

When introducing a new student loan benefit, starting with offerings that aren’t contribution-based (such as optimization tools and coaching services) can help a tight budget go further.

Tiered contributions and eligibility

Consider designing a student loan repayment contribution that tailors eligibility and contribution amount based on specific criteria (e.g. years of service or job type) — plus, the eligibility criteria and contribution amounts can always be adjusted later on.

Optionality

Allowing participants to choose their own financial and/or holistic wellness perks from a selection of offerings can help deliver student loan benefits to the employees who need them most while staying spend-savvy.

Checklist: student loan benefit implementation

1. Ideation

Plan budget

Define goals and timeline

Identify internal stakeholder

2. Design

Select benefit offerings (repayment contributions, optimization solutions, etc.)

Secure external partners and service providers

Define eligibility criteria

Create internal program design documentation

3. Planning

Assess program tax implications

Review compliance needs

Create communications plan

Update existing benefits collateral

Train program administrators

4. Launch

Execute communications plan

Host informational webinar for employees

Enroll participants and collect student loan data

Why choose Candidly for your student loan employee benefits program

The time for student loan benefits is now – and Candidly can help you meet the moment with a proven solution with demonstrated results.

73%

Candidly users that receive Employer Contributions are 73% less likely to turn over ⁴⁰

83%

After meeting with a student loan coach, Candidly users report feeling 83% more confidence about their finances ⁴¹

45%

45% of Candidly users feel more in control of their finances because of Candidly ⁴²

We partner with employers — of all sizes, and across all industries — to tackle the modern workforce’s top barrier to financial wellness while strengthening engagement , supercharging retention, and building inclusive, holistic workplace wellness. Our benefits platform include capabilities for:

Student loan repayment contributions and retirement match programs

AI-driven guidance and repayment optimization technology

One-on-one, live coaching services

Public Service Loan Forgiveness tools

Private student lending marketplace

Speak to Candidly about getting your Candidly benefit program up and running

Learn more

Explore more benefit solutions

¹ https://ticas.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/classof2018.pdf

²https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics

³https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics

⁴https://thecollegeinvestor.com/33643/average-student-loan-monthly-payment/

⁵https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-age

⁶https://www.onlineu.com/magazine/generational-attitudes-paying-for-college

⁷https://www.bankrate.com/loans/student-loans/student-loan-debt-by-generation/#genz

⁸https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-age

⁹https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-17/student-loan-growing-share-of-1-7-trillion-debt-pile-held-by-older-americans

¹⁰https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/average-student-loan-debt-at-graduation

¹¹https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/average-nursing-student-debt

¹²https://www.bankrate.com/loans/student-loans/average-dental-school-debt/

¹³https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/average-student-loan-debt-veterinarians

¹⁴https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/average-pharmacist-student-loan-debt

¹⁵https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-gender

¹⁶https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-race

¹⁷https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-race

¹⁸https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-race

¹⁹https://educationdata.org/student-loan-default-rate

²⁰https://educationdata.org/student-loan-default-rate

²¹https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/3658639-majority-of-student-loan-borrowers-link-mental-health-issues-to-their-debt/

²²https://www.zippia.com/advice/student-loan-statistics/

²³https://www.zippia.com/advice/student-loan-statistics/

²⁴https://www.yahoo.com/now/third-borrowers-spending-student-debt-rent-160918214.html

²⁵https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/cnbc-invest-in-you-jan-2022/

²⁶https://tiaa.new-media-release.com/mit-agelab/downloads/AgeLab_Student_Debt_Executive_Summary.pdf

²⁷https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/Americas-spend-more-than-20-of-their-take-home-pay-on-student-loan-debt-impacting-their-long-term-financial-health-300898679.html

²⁸https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-race

²⁹https://shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/benefits/Pages/Employees-Financial-Issues-Affect-Their-Job-Performance.aspx

³⁰https://www.adp.com/spark/articles/2018/10/whats-on-your-employees-minds-financial-stress-and-workplace-performance.aspx

³¹https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/business-transformation/library/employee-financial-wellness-survey.html

³²https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/17/student-loans-take-a-mental-toll-on-young-people.html

³³https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/student-debt-a-critical-challenge-facing-professionals

³⁴https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/benefits-compensation/employers-explore-repaying-student-loan-debt

³⁵https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/business-transformation/library/employee-financial-wellness-survey.html

³⁶https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencebradford/2018/03/30/student-loan-repayment-the-job-perk-of-the-future/

³⁷https://www.cbre.com/insights/articles/what-millennials-really-want-in-the-workplace

³⁸https://tiaa.new-media-release.com/mit-agelab/downloads/AgeLab_

³⁹https://fortune.com/2022/12/21/omnibus-bill-could-help-student-loan-borrowers-save-retirement-401k/

⁴⁰Based on Candidly platform data retrieved as of January 2026.

⁴¹Based on survey all-time data from internal Candidly coaching users through January 2026.

⁴²Based on survey of Candidly users.

Student Loan Benefits

Employee benefits, student loan debt, and the modern workplace

The problem for employers

The problem for employees

The solution for everyone: student loan employer benefits

What you’ll learn in our guide to student loan employer benefits

Who has student loans? How much student debt do my employees owe?

Student debt by generation

Student debt by degree type

Student debt by gender and race

How does student loan debt impact employees?

Why should employers offer student loan benefits? Why now?

How employers can leverage federal programs to reach their own benefits objectives

How to design and implement a student loan benefit program

Student loan benefit program design ideas

Example program models

Working within budget constraints to design a student loan benefit program

Checklist: student loan benefit implementation

Why choose Candidly for your student loan employee benefits program

Explore more benefit solutions

Student Loan Retirement Match

Student Debt Solutions

Student Loan Employer Contributions

Coaching

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Student Loan
Retirement Match