In an unusual move for a company, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will be helping 45 percent of its employees pay off their student loan balances. PwC is known as one of the largest and reputable accounting and consulting firms in the world.
Junior and senior associates will receive $1,200 per year for up to six years to help pay off student loan balances. According to press reports, PwC is attempting to target talented millennial employees by offering the incentive. With the average student loan balances for graduates at an average of $30,000, it is also likely that PwC sees student loan debt as a major financial issue among its newer employees.
If other companies offered the same benefits, they might have an easier time attracting talented and young graduates during campus recruiting events. In a survey by Iontuiton, a student debt research company, 80 percent of 1,000 people surveyed desired to work for companies that would help them pay back student loans. Presently, only 3 percent of companies in the United States are offering similar benefits.
Should Other Companies Offer Incentives to Help Employees Pay Student Loans?
For anyone paying attention to the student loan crisis, this is a no-brainer. We recently wrote a blog discussing how some students would live on ramen noodles and eat tarantulas to ease the burden of student loan debt.
Many graduates with student loans will have a more difficult time saving for retirement, paying for mortgages and finding affordable apartments. Companies that offer to help pay down loan balances will likely remain very attractive to recent graduates.
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