Yahoo Finance Free tool allows job seekers to find companies that pay student loans
A new free tool allows job-seeking individuals to find companies that would help pay off their student loans.
The tool is a jobs board developed by student loan startup Goodly that allows users to browse thousands of companies that offer student loan repayment assistance.
There are currently about 2,000 companies on the platform, and jobs can be sorted by where the company is located, the industry, company size, and more.
"This product is helpful for job seekers of course to find an employer that will help pay down their student loans," Greg Poulin, CEO and co-founder of Goodly, told Yahoo Finance. "But employers... can also use it for benchmarking purposes and [to] see what other types of companies and employers are offering these benefits so they can remain competitive from a recruiting and retention perspective as well."
Goodly is a San Francisco-based startup that partners with employers to offer student loan repayment as an employee benefit.
'Tax-free employer contributions'
Goodly's platform increases awareness of a coronavirus-related legislation that employers are taking advantage of to address the student loan debt crisis.
In 2021, Congress passed legislation that allows employers to contribute up to $5,250 in tuition or student loan assistance per employee each year, without raising the employee's gross taxable income. The provision is in place until 2025.
The median student loan balance was $22,000 in 2019, which translates into a median monthly payment of $200 (roughly 3.2% of family income).
Poulin noted that the goal for the new tool is "to create awareness that student loan borrowers can access these types of benefits and that these new tax-free employer contributions are available to them."
Employers leveraging the tool choose a flat contribution rate per participant each month or contributions based on an employee's years of service. So, for example, starting with contributions of $50 a month and raising it to $200 a month after a few years. Some companies have been maximized contributions, paying the full $5,250 per year for their employees' student loans.
Health care tech company ConsejoSano works with Goodly to contribute $50 a month for student loans held by employees with a year or less time with the firm. Those with one to two years of service will receive $100 per month; two to three years will get $200 a month; and three years or more will receive $400 a month.
Payments for federal and federally-held student loans have been paused since March 2020, but are expected to resume on January 31, 2022.
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Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at aarthi@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.
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