When you’re a huge international consulting and auditing firm that hires some 11,000 recent college graduates every year, you want to have a benefits package that appeals to candidates’ needs. That’s why PricewaterhouseCoopers has unveiled a new program to help pay down employees’ student loan debt.
The Wall Street Journal reports that, starting in July 2016, PwC will pay up to $7,200 of an employee’s loan debt.
Eligible PwC staffers will receive a maximum benefit of $1,200 a year for six years. Nearly half the company’s workforce could be eligible for some relief through this program.
The benefits will be available to the company’s associates and senior-associates – positions which typically range from entry-level hires to those with up to six years of experience, the WSJ reports.
Funds provided through the benefit will be paid directly to the loan servicers of certified student loans.
“This is an issue that is important to our people,” Michael Fenlon, PwC’s global talent leader tells the WSJ. “We certainly think it’s a beneficial attraction for top talent.”
The benefit was created after the company’s employee focus groups identified student loan debt as a particular concern among its college hires.
One recently hired employee who could benefit from the payments says she graduated from college in May with around $30,000 in debt.
“I am personally living with my parents to try to save up some money and not be so tight on my budget,” she says. “This is something that’s really helpful. Hopefully I will be debt-free sooner.”
PwC to Offer Perk: Student Loan Aid [The Wall Street Journal]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist