by David Aronson | Aug 4, 2025 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, FAQ, Features, Government Relations, Human Capital, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Tax-free
America’s student debt crisis is undeniable. Over 45 million Americans, representing roughly 26% of the U.S. workforce, collectively hold $1.7 trillion in student debt. For Finance and HR executives, this reality presents both a challenge and a profound...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Jul 16, 2025 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, FAQ, Features, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Recruiting, Retaining Talent, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Balance, Student Loan Repayment, Tax-free
Changes continue to get announced for borrowers enrolled in the former SAVE plan, bringing fiscal responsibility back to individuals holding these loans. For the millions of borrowers enrolled in this plan, deemed illegal in US courts, interest will begin accruing on...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Jul 7, 2025 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Features, Finding Talent, Government Relations, Human Capital, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Retaining Talent, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Balance, Student Loan Repayment, Tax-free
For ten years, Peanut Butter has helped employers offer impactful student loan assistance programs, recognizing the financial strain of student debt. As you know from our recent posts, employers consistently report a high ROI on this benefit, even when offered on a...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Jul 1, 2025 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Financial Wellbeing, Finding Talent, Government Relations, Human Capital, Human Resources, Insights, Press Room, Program Management, Recruiting, Retaining Talent, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Debt, Student Loan Repayment, Tax-free
Recent legislative updates, including a Senate version of H.R. 1 that mirrors the House bill we recently wrote about, continue to point toward a permanent extension of tax-free employer student loan contributions. This progress is welcome, but it simply reinforces a...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Jun 11, 2025 | Benefits, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Financial Wellbeing, Finding Talent, Human Capital, Human Resources, Insights, Recruiting, Retaining Talent, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment, Tax-free, Winning Together
As an employer, you’re always looking for benefits that are not just trendy, but have lasting power to attract and retain top talent. Student Loan Assistance is one of those benefits. But with the provision for tax-free contributions currently set to expire on...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Mar 20, 2025 | Benefits, Decisions, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, FAQ, Features, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Qualified Loans, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Balance, Student Loan Repayment
Many times in discussions with existing and potential clients, a common question that comes up is regarding skin in the game for employees receiving a Student Loan Repayment benefit. Furthermore, how would they know an eligible employee is making their minimum monthly...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Mar 20, 2025 | Benefits, Decisions, Employee Benefits, FAQ, Features, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Balance, Student Loan Debt, Student Loan Repayment
One of the most common questions we get from employers during discussions regarding Student Loan Assistance is, ‘How many of my employees likely have student debt?’ This post breaks down our answer to that question and the expectation employers should have...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Feb 13, 2025 | Benefits, Employee Benefits, FAQ, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
One question that comes up during meetings with clients and prospects is, if we choose to offer Student Loan Repayment are company contributions applied toward our employees’ principal balance? To answer that question. Employer-sponsored contributions are...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Feb 13, 2025 | Benefits, Decisions, Employee Benefits, FAQ, Features, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
During our discussions with potential clients. A common question that comes up is when employers should offer Student Loan Assistance during the calendar year, and should this timeline align with their health plan open enrollment? What we’ve found, is that it is...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Dec 27, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Human Resources, Insights, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
G2 is the world’s largest business to business software review platform, helping organizations identify the best technology for their product needs. Each quarter, the platform honors top vendors for how they stand-out in their respective industries. For Winter...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Dec 26, 2024 | Benefits, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, FAQ, Features, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
When discussing the set-up of a Student Loan Assistance program with clients, there’s always a few recommendations we have for employers on what should be top of mind. In this post, we’ll outline these key elements in three rules of thumb. In our...
![[Voluntary Advantage] What Your Business Needs to Know About Student Debt in 2025](https://www.getpeanutbutter.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Vol-Adv-Article.png)
by Joe Kwasniewski | Dec 12, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Employee Benefits, FAQ, Human Capital, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Retaining Talent, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Debt, Student Loan Repayment, Winning Together
This article was originally published by Voluntary Advantage in the December 2024 edition of the Voluntary Benefits Voice. To read the full publication, click here; this article appears on page 21-22. Just over a year ago, our CEO Dave Aronson had the opportunity to...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Dec 5, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, FAQ, Features, Human Capital, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
During discussions with potential clients, one question that comes up from time to time is based on employee student loan payments and payroll. Wondering if they can/should process employee payments through their payroll system. This post helps answer this question...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Nov 26, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, FAQ, Features, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
When meeting with potential clients and partners, one of the common questions we get on program best practices surrounds spouse and family member participation. To answer this question, no, an employee must be listed as the primary borrower on the student loan in...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Nov 12, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Financial Wellbeing, Human Capital, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Debt, Student Loan Repayment
It has now been close to a year since the Secure Act 2.0 was approved and options were added for employers to tie their retirement plans to other programs like Student Loan Assistance. In our experience, this hasn’t been taken up as a common approach for employers....
by Joe Kwasniewski | Nov 12, 2024 | Benefits, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Features, Financial Wellbeing, Government Relations, Human Resources, Plan Design, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Balance, Student Loan Debt, Student Loan Repayment
Nationwide, many individuals are utilizing the SAVE plan to lower monthly payments on their student loans and in their minds putting themselves in a better position financially. The SAVE plan is income-driven and payments are altered by each unique person’s earnings....
by Joe Kwasniewski | Oct 11, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, FAQ, Features, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment, Tax-free
In a recent statement from the IRS, an unnamed employer received access through a private letter ruling to defer 401k matching dollars to student loans through a Section 127 plan tax-free. Similar to the private letter ruling Abbott Labs received in 2018 to count...
![Supreme Court rebuffs Biden administration plea to restore multibillion-dollar student debt plan [AP News]](https://www.getpeanutbutter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/jumpstory-download20200601-204924-1080x675.png)
by Joe Kwasniewski | Oct 11, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Financial Wellbeing, Government Relations, Human Resources, Insights, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
White House attempts to relieve portions of student debt the US workforce faces have continued to get struck down by the Supreme Court. Alluding to the consistent verdict that no widespread forgiveness is coming for borrowers. In a recent post from AP News, another...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Oct 11, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Financial Wellbeing, Human Resources, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment, Tax-free
First through the CARES Act in 2020, then the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and now through an in progress bipartisan bill in 2024. Tax-free Student Loan Assistance is once again making a statement to remain an option for employers looking to stand out in...
by Joe Kwasniewski | Oct 4, 2024 | Benefits, Decisions, Differentiation, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, FAQ, Features, Financial Wellbeing, Human Resources, Insights, Plan Design, Program Management, Student Loan Assistance, Student Loan Repayment
In our discussions with potential clients, employers commonly ask about lifetime maximum caps on their student loan contributions for employees. Hoping to draw comparisons to other benefits. In this post, we’ll describe the best practices surrounding this concept. In...
