10 companies that help you repay your student loans
Many companies are offering to help employees pay off their student loan debt. Statistics show many more are planning to in the coming years.
If you’re struggling with student loan debt, your employer may be able to help. Here are 10 companies that help pay student loans. (Shutterstock)
Student loan debt is incredibly common. In fact, a whopping 43.4 million Americans have federal student loans to their name, amounting to a total debt of $1.6 billion, according to U.S. Department of Education data.
Fortunately, many companies recognize how hard student loans can be to pay off, and will even assist their employees in the process. If you want help paying down your student loan debt, here are 10 companies that will help pay student loans on your behalf.
You can use Credible to compare student loan refinance rates from various lenders in minutes.
10 companies that help you repay your student loans
It’s a tight labor market, and employers are upping the ante to attract great talent. One of the ways they do this is by offering student loan repayment benefits.
The specifics of these benefits vary by company, but typically, the employer will make payments directly to your lender — often on a monthly basis — up to a certain threshold. In some cases, they may match your payments or, in others, they may pay you, and you can put those funds toward your student loan balances.
The number of companies offering these benefits is ever-increasing, but here are 10 options you might consider.
Aetna
Aetna is a health insurance company based in Connecticut, though it operates all over the world. Under Aetna's student loan repayment program, the company will match employee student loan payments up to $2,000 annually ($1,000 for part-time employees). The lifetime maximum benefit is $10,000 for full-time employees and $5,000 for part-timers.
Carvana
Carvana is an online car marketplace with dozens of locations across the U.S. The company launched its student repayment program in 2018 and offers up to $1,000 per year per full-time employee. The benefits go through Gradifi’s Student Loan PayDown program.
Chegg
California-based education support platform Chegg also offers student loan repayment perks to its employees. Launched in 2019, the program gives employees up to $5,000 in student loan payments annually ($3,000 for those at director or VP level). Employees must have at least two years’ tenure at Chegg to qualify. They don’t have to have graduated, and there are no specific requirements for the type of school or program attended.
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Estee Lauder
Makeup and beauty brand Estee Lauder also offers student loan repayment benefits to its more than 60,000 workers worldwide. The program launched in 2018 and offers employees $100 per month — up to $10,000 maximum — toward their student loan debt. Employees are eligible after at least one year of working for the company.
Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments, which offers retirement plans, brokerage services, and financial planning, offers up to $15,000 in contributions (one of the highest caps on this list) and even provides student debt tools to help employees more effectively reduce their loan balances.
Refinancing student loans can also help reduce loan balances by reducing your interest rate, allowing you to pay less interest over the life of a loan. Credible makes it easy to compare refinance rates from multiple student loan lenders.
First Republic Bank
First Republic Bank, which has branches across seven states, offers a Student Loan Repayment Assistance program that provides monthly contributions to employees' student loans. The company pays $100 per month to start, though this payment increases for every year enrolled in the program. The maximum monthly benefit is $200 until the loan is 100% paid off.
Google's student loan repayment program is fairly new, launching in 2021. Under the benefit, eligible employees can receive matching student loan payments up to $2,500 per year. The program is currently only open to Google workers in the U.S., but the company says it plans to expand it to other locations down the line.
New York Life
Insurance company New York Life launched its student loan assistance program in late 2017. Employees can get up to $170 per month over a period of five years, with a total lifetime cap of $10,200 in assistance. Only non-officer employees are eligible.
Peloton
Peloton, the company known for its revolutionary stationary bike and streaming workout platform, offers $100 per month through the Gradifi Student Loan PayDown program, which issues payments directly to your loan servicer.
PwC
Financial services firm PwC, also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, offers a student loan paydown benefit worth up to $10,000 per employee. The company will pay up to $1,200 a year to eligible associates and senior associates within its ranks.
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Next steps
If your current employer doesn’t offer student loan repayment assistance, you might talk to human resources management about it. Nearly one-third of large companies plan to offer student loan assistance over the next two years, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. As such, providing these benefits might be vital to your company both retaining workers and attracting top talent in the long run.
If you decide to look for a new job (or you’re just starting the job hunt out of college), don’t be afraid to ask potential employers about their financial resources and benefits during the interview process — particularly those that can help you reduce your student loan debt. The current labor market is tight, so companies are pulling out all the stops to remain competitive. If one company doesn’t offer student loan repayment benefits, there’s a good chance you’ll find another that does.
If you can’t find a fitting one, or your HR department doesn’t offer this employee benefit, consolidating your federal student loans or refinancing your private student loans are also options. Depending on the status of your current loans, it may lower your interest rate or simplify your monthly payment. Just keep in mind that if you refinance federal student loans into a private loan, you’ll lose access to federal benefits and protections, like income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). If you have federal student loan debt, it’s also worth exploring student loan forgiveness programs to see if you might be eligible.
Credible lets you easily compare student loan refinance rates from private lenders, without affecting your credit.