Expand employee student loan repayment benefits! #PassEPRA
The CARES Act includes a provision which enables employers to pay up to $5,250 of employees’ student loans tax-free! But there’s a catch (as always): the provision is only set to last 9 months. It’s a shortened version of the Employer Participation in Repayment Act (EPRA), originally introduced by Senators Thune and Warner and Reps. Peters and Davis. To make tax-free student loan repayment benefits a permanent part of our tax code, we’ve got to get Congress to pass the Employer Participation in Repayment Act.
Why’s it important?
- A student loan repayment assistance benefit would help employers attract young talent and offer young employees benefits they actually need. In a survey of our membership, 86% of AYA members said they’d be more likely to seek employment at companies and organizations offering the tax-free student loan repayment benefit than those that do not. 71% said that the benefit would enable them to better invest in their futures, and 72% said they’d be less stressed financially and more productive at work.
- Only around 8% of employers currently offer a student loan repayment benefit. If employers across America adopt student loan repayment as the next major workplace benefit, America could knock out as much of one third of the student loan debt burden in just a few years.
Tell your Reps: Expand employee student loan repayment benefits! #PassEPRA
TL;DR?
The CARES Act has enabled employers to pay up to $5,250 of employees’ student loans tax-free through the end of this year. Help us urge Congress to expand this benefit and make it a permanent part of our tax code!