A Boston start-up called Gradifi worked with PwC to create the program. Tim DeMello, Gradifi’s founder and CEO, said that PwC is the platform’s first client but that the firm has signed on another 100 companies that are interested in figuring out how to offer student-loan relief as a benefit for their employees. The move not only keeps companies competitive in recruiting talent, it also sends a message that they care about America’s $1 trillion student-debt problem.

“I think they're looking to attract and retain talent … They know that for 75 percent of people who graduate college, this is a top issue for them financially,” says DeMello. “So they really think they're being proactive to offer this benefit. It differentiates them from their competition.”

Much like a retirement account, Gradifi gets employees to sign up for their platform, then asks them to provide information on their student loans. A big part of what the company does is student-loan verification—making sure the benefit money goes towards loans and not something else. Participating employees grant Gradifi permission to pay their loans off, via company contributions. But unlike retirement-account contributions, student-loan payments from employers are taxed as income.

A host of other companies have also recently announced student-loan perk programs launching next year: Natixis Global Asset Management is offering employees who have been with the company for at least five years up to $10,000 for federal student-loan repayment. Fidelity Investments is also hammering out the details for an employee student-loan repayment perk expected to launch next year.

And while student-loan relief isn’t the sexiest perk, it’s certainly cool. From a psychological standpoint, it has advantages too, such as reducing stress. And the stress of student debt is one that can plague even money-savvy employees. One study showed that strong financial literacy doesn’t predict financial health, since even people with who understand finance often make irrational decisions regarding money. An employer-driven student-loan perk takes willpower (to transfer money from your account to pay off your loans) out of the equation. If enough companies decide to participate, it may mean real loan relief for a generation already struggling to pay off education costs.

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