Employers Pay Your Student Loans After Graduation

“Go to college,” they said.

“You’ll get a better job,” they said.

Well, you went and yes, better jobs are out there, especially compared to working in retail.

However, one of the best kept secrets is that many companies are offering to pay your student loans upon hiring you.

Many companies offer programs to pay for a master’s degree or additional certification, after a certain probationary period but few are as progressive as to begin paying for your past student loans, upon hiring.

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Some Employers May Pay Off Your Loans

Some of these companies give money towards your loans as taxable income or bonuses while others pay the servicer directly.

With student loan debt becoming more and more a fact of people’s lives, many companies are offering this benefit.

However, this is not a complete guess; there’s research to back this up and because of this, you have ammo to ask your prospective employer about their benefits package.

Remember, you’re interviewing them too, so research the companies you’re applying to.

Savings and retirement planning have shown to be dramatically affected where student loans are at $10,000 or more, which adds to stress.

Employers spend money on wellness programs to reduce stress and keep insurance premiums down so this is a vicious cycle to deal with.

A survey this year by the job search firm Beyond found that 67% of respondents said they would be more willing to accept a job if a loan repayment assistance program were part of the benefits package.

In the high tech and finance sectors, that just makes good recruiting sense, if they really want you as a candidate.

According to Nate Matherson, CEO of LendEDU, “We believe this will be an attractive recruiting and retention tool.”

Sounds great, but like any bonus, this will be regarded as taxable income and yet is a zero interest loan of sorts from your employer.

There is pressure on Congress to make this a tax free benefit, like health insurance, but for now only 3% of employers offer this at all.

That being said, you will not sound like a Martian asking if this benefit is being offered.

Every hiring executive should know about this and what’s the worse they can say, no? Job offer is still on the table.

The following is a short list of companies that do offer such a perk:

1. Nvidia

When it comes to student loan benefits, visual computing technology company Nvidia covers all the bases.

Nvidia has a student loan repayment assistance program that offers up to $500 per month on student loans to full and part-time employees who’ve been with the company for at least three months.

These payments are made directly to the student loan servicer.

That makes up a total of $6,000 per year, with a lifetime maximum of $30,000.

Employees must have graduated within the past three years to be eligible.

And for those who want to further their education, Nvidia offers up to $5,250 per year for manager-approved, work-related courses.

Employees must earn at least a “B” in their course to receive this reimbursement.

2. Aetna

Health care company Aetna offers both tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment.

For student loan repayment, they offer $2,000 per year, with a lifetime maximum of $10,000 for full-time employees.

Part-time employees can get $1,000 per year, with a lifetime maximum of $5,000.

Employees must have graduated from a U.S.-based accredited institution within three years of applying for the student loan repayment program.

The payments are made directly to the student loan servicer.

As for their tuition assistance program, Aetna pays 80 percent of the cost of employees’ undergraduate or graduate courses taken while employed at Aetna.

3. CommonBond

CommonBond is a company that helps people refinance their student loans, so it should come as no surprise that it is also a company that offers jobs that pay student loans.

As of 2015, CommonBond started offering up to $100 per month towards its employees’ student loans for a maximum of $1,200 per year.

Employees never get maxed out on this benefit until their student loans are paid off or they leave the company.

Dave Carter, Director of Business Development at CommonBond, is set to pay off his student loans almost one year earlier than planned thanks to this benefit.

“Receiving this benefit has a tremendous effect on my overall stress levels and allows me to focus more on the task at hand, helping others with their loans!” He says.

What’s more, Carter talks about how his loyalty to the company has grown because of it, “Receiving student loan repayment benefits makes me more likely to stay at CommonBond, not only for the monetary reasons, which are great, but also because the company recognizes and is addressing a major financial issue in my life.”

Good point as research shows that the more progressive the benefits package, the better the employee retention.

4. Connelly Partners

Connelly Partners announced its student loan repayment assistance program in June of 2016.

Connelly Partners decided to partner with Gradifi, a “student loan repayment solution for employers” and match up to $100 per month of its employees’ student loan payments.

New employees will receive a $1,000 signing bonus towards student loans in Gradifi and another $1,000 when they hit their five year anniversary with Connelly Partners.

5. First Republic

First Republic released a tiered student loan repayment assistance program in 2016.

This program is in partnership with Gradifi and is available to full or part-time employees paying off their own student loans or loans in their name taken out for their children.

This program has no maximum and is available for the life of the loan.

In the first year of employment at First Republic, employees receive up to $100 per month ($1,200 per year) for their student loans.

In the second year, they receive up to $150 per month ($1,800 per year).

And in the third year up until the loans are paid off, employees receive up to $200 per month for their student loans ($2,400 per year).

6. Natixis Global Asset Management

In 2015, Natixis Global Asset Management released a study that showed 34 percent of American workers do not contribute to retirement plans because they have too much personal debt, with 23 percent of that debt made up of student loans.

Originally, Natixis’ plan was to offer $5,000 towards Federal Perkins and Stafford loans to employees on their five year anniversary.

But now Natixis revised the plan to offer a $1,000 annual benefit to all employees for federal and private student loans.

This benefit will be paid out in direct payments to the servicer of $83.33 per month for a maximum of $10,000 over ten years while the employee remains with Natixis.

Bonus: the payment is made directly to the principal balance of the loan.

7. Penguin Random House

In a partnership with Gradifi, book publisher Penguin Random House announced its own student loan repayment assistance program in 2016, making it the first-ever book publisher to do so.

As of the beginning of 2017, full-time employees who’ve been with the publisher for at least one year are entitled to up to $1,200 per year for their student loans.

Penguin’s reimbursement, which goes straight to its employee’s principal student loan balance, maxes out at seven and a half years, which totals $9,000 in maximum student loan reimbursement.

This is not loose change and adds up to roughly a third of the average college loan.

9. Powertex

Also partnering with Gradifi, merchandising company Powertex is another big name offering jobs that pay student loans.

Powertex employees can receive $100 per month on their student loans for up to six years, maxing out at a total of $7,200.

10. PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC)

Another large company partnering with Gradifi, PricewaterhouseCooper, made the decision to offer payoff benefits based on what its millennial workers reported they needed.

As of 2016, employees receive $1,200 per year (paid out monthly straight to the student loan servicer) for up to six years (or a total of $10,000).

And it won’t just cover new hires or those under the age of 30; all current staff with qualifying debt can sign up.

11. SoFi

As of last year, SoFi joined the pack of companies that pay off student loans, or at least contribute to the payoff, for its employees.

SoFi employees can receive $200 per month towards their student loans with no yearly maximums.

12. U.S. Government

Jobs that pay back student loans don’t just come through private companies.

U.S. Government employees may be eligible for student loan repayment assistance through the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program.

This program is offered as a recruitment tool for various agencies and thus will vary based on where the government employee works.

In general, employees can receive a maximum of $10,000 per year and a lifetime maximum of $60,000 for their student loans.

However, this only applies to federal student loans.

Bonus: government employees can also potentially qualify their federal student loans for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Evaluating companies that pay off student loans

When it comes to accepting job offers from companies that pay off student loans, it’s hard to find a downside.

Again, depending on your company’s program, the repayment assistance is potentially taxable as is any bonus.

Either way, just like a 401(k) match, this is money that’s left sitting on the table if you don’t take advantage of it.

When it comes to student loan repayment, as good friend of mine says, “Found money is better than earned money.”

Do you work for a company that offered to pay off your loans? Tell us about it in the comments.

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