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Pay Off Student Loans or Save for Retirement? Help Employees Do Both

Part of a series  |  SECURE 2.0 Act Insights

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SECURE 2.0 is empowering employers to prioritize employee financial wellness. ADP's new plan feature can help your employees reduce their student loan debt while saving for retirement.

Financial wellness is a hot topic for today's workers. Student loan debt in the U.S. totals an astonishing $1.7 trillion, impacting 45 million American workers. And your hard-working employees may be struggling.

After a three-and-a-half-year pause, federal student loan payments resumed in October 2023. Employees with student loans pay an average of $503 per month—roughly 10% of the median starting salary for a new graduate—placing a huge strain on their financial health and forcing workers to choose between paying down student loans or saving for retirement.

In fact, 82% of U.S. employees say student debt is their top financial concern, holding them back from meeting their savings goals. But the SECURE 2.0 Act gives today's employees an opportunity to do both — with the help of their employer.

Simplified student loan repayment, maximized savings

In a recent webinar on Simplifying Student Debt, business owners learned about a new solution to help reduce student loan debt while also building retirement savings. The student loan retirement matching program lets employers provide a valuable savings option that can help employees pay off their student loans while earning a matching contribution from the employer that is deposited into their 401(k) plan. Simply stated, when an employee who is otherwise eligible to receive matching contributions makes qualified student loan repayments, they may also be eligible to receive matching contributions based on the loan repayments.

Lead the way to employee financial wellness

Saving for retirement is challenging for employees with student debt. By offering innovative options to help reduce their financial stress, your company can stand out from the competition when it comes to hiring while making a significant positive impact on the financial well-being of your people.

To help make saving for retirement easier and more accessible for everyone, learn more about ADP's student loan solutions or register and watch the webinar for more information.



Registered representative of ADP Broker Dealer, Inc. (ADP BD), Member FINRA, an affiliate of ADP, Inc., One ADP Blvd, Roseland, NJ 07068 and Associated person of ADP Strategic Plan Services, LLC (SPS) an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or services.

ADP, Inc., and its affiliates do not offer investment, tax, or legal advice to individuals. Nothing contained in this article is intended to be, nor should be construed as, particularized advice or a recommendation or suggestion that you take or not take a particular action. Questions about how laws, regulations, guidance, your plan's provisions, or services available to participants may apply to you should be directed to your plan administrator or legal, tax or financial advisor.

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