How Student Loan Debt Affects Employees Across Generations: Strategies to Help Employees at All Levels
As college costs rises faster than inflation and as student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion, managing the complex and ongoing student loan process is a significant concern for employees across all industries. Young professionals who recently left college are likely repaying undergraduate loans and figuring out how to pay for graduate school; mid-career professionals are repaying undergraduate and/or graduate loans and figuring out how to save for college for their elementary school children; mature professionals are figuring out how to pay for college for their high school children, without taking loans or sacrificing retirement security. This interactive session demonstrates the different ways HR departments can help employees manage student loan debt, before enrollment, during college, and after graduation, and offers answers to questions such as those below.
Learning Objectives:
- What are employers doing to assist employees with student loan repayment?
- What are state legislatures and the federal government doing to provide employers with incentives to include student loan repayment as an employee benefit?
- What is the impact of student loan debt on employee mental health and productivity?
- What are the pros and cons of private loan consolidation?
- How can employees of nonprofit organizations have their loans forgiven?
- Can you have a student loan bill of zero dollars a month?
- Can you get free money for college by not going to college?
Kevin Fudge
Kevin Fudge is the Director of Consumer Advocacy at ASA. He works with policy makers, states and non-profit organizations to improve college completion rates and successful student loan management through raising public awareness about the intricacies of the college financing process. Kevin resolves complex loan situations for members of government and their constituents, and provides research and analysis of student loans to elected officials, secondary school administrators, higher education professionals and employees in the public and private sector. Kevin is frequently quoted in various media formats on student debt, and he graduated from the University of Virginia and Harvard University.