The Standard and BenefitEd Partner to Help Employees Manage Education Costs

Standard Insurance Company (The Standard), a leading provider of financial protection products and services for employers and individual customers, announced a new relationship with BenefitEd, an employer-based provider of student loan repayment and college savings services. The partnership allows clients of The Standard to offer their employees customized education assistance products.

With education costs continuing to rise, today’s workers are finding themselves in historic student loan debt. In the United States, 42.7 million people have federal student loan debt, totaling $1.777 trillion. The lion’s share of this debt is carried by millennials and Gen Xers (25 – 49 years old). Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce today and employers are seeing a steady rise in job turnover rates for this group as debt management continues to be a major financial stressor.

One of the ways employers can gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining millennials as well as employees from all generational groups is by offering student loan repayment solutions and other financial resources for funding higher education.

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“We recognize the critical importance of expanding benefit packages to address the growing need to assist employees with higher education costs and loans,” said CrisDee Plambeck, vice president of Employee Benefits Product and Strategy at The Standard. “Our partnership offering with BenefitEd strategically enhances workers’ financial security and bolsters employee retention.”

Clients of The Standard can contract directly with BenefitEd and have access to these products at a discounted rate:

• Employer-assisted student loan repayment: Employees can pay down student loan debt with tax-free direct contributions or matching programs.
• Employer-assisted college savings: Employees can pay for their own or their family’s future education through supplemented 529 college savings contributions, which encourages financial planning.
• Tuition reimbursement: Employers can ease their administrative burden by working with BenefitEd to manage tuition reimbursement programs that reward employees for continuing their education.
• Employee choice: Employees can choose the tax-free option for their matching funds — retirement savings, student loan repayment or both — without employers having to adjust their benefits budget.

"We're excited to partner with The Standard in offering education assistance products to employer customers," said Dennis Cash, director of Strategic Initiatives for BenefitEd. "These services are highly valued by employees and give employers an additional tool to attract and retain employees as well as help ensure their financial well-being.”

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Source: businesswire