Student Loan Repayment Could become an Employment Benefit

Student loan repayment may be joining insurance and vacation days on the list of benefits available from your employer. Marketwatch is reporting that the IRS is changing rules governing 401(k)s to allow for student debt payments.

This would happen by allowing employers, in certain circumstances, to allow employees to "...link the amount of its 401(k) matching contributions for an employee to the amount of student loan repayments made by the employee outside of the plan."

Recent studies show that the when people are carrying student debt, they are less likely to fully participate in retirement savings programs. And therefore are less prepared for the future.

It's thought that allowing the 401(k) mechanism already in place in many organizations to be used to lessen that student debt burden, will encourage more savings for retirement sooner in a worker's career.

Marketwatch reports that education debt has nearly tripled. Americans now hold $1.4 trillion in student debt.