<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Companies will offer 401(k) matches for student loan payments"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Employers are hesitant to offer workers a new perk that would help many of them pay down student loans while saving for retirement, despite a law that makes it easier for companies to do so, experts say. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The SECURE Act 2.0 Act, which became law in December 2022, included a provision allowing employers for the first time this year to count <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2022/12/01/pay-student-debt-and-save-for-retirement/10800059002/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">student loan payments toward matching</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/retirement/what-is-a-401-k/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">401(k)</a>, or other retirement, contributions. It aims to help Americans avoid the difficult choice of using their money to repay student loans or save for retirement. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/01/16/recession-signs-soft-landing-forecasts/72209418007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">But lingering economic worries, including the chance of a slowdown,</a> could foil those plans.</p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Companies aren't in a hurry to offer workers the benefit amid the uncertainty, experts say. That will keep borrowers wringing their hands on how to best use their income. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Nearly two-thirds of companies that the nonprofit trade association Plan Sponsor Council of America <a target="_blank" href="https://www.napa-net.org/news-info/daily-news/student-loan-match-guidance-plan-sponsors-want#:~:text=When%20asked%20in%20September%202023%20which%20of%20the,with%2020%25%20currently%20considering%20it%2C%20and%2012%25%20unsure." rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">surveyed this year</a> said they won't offer student loan matching and only 5% have implemented it or plan to this year. When asked why they didn’t plan to offer this benefit, answers ranged from cost, complexity, competing priorities, lack of interest or necessity. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>Learn more:</strong> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":body nav (pl)|e|auto spike click:6|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" href="https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/personal-loans/best-personal-loans/">Best personal loans</a></p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">“Compensation teams across the corporate world are laser-focused right now on cost control, so I suspect that many will be reluctant to consider expanding their benefit offerings,” said Aaron Terrazas, chief economist at job site Glassdoor. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">That said, certain industries like...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2024/02/06/student-loan-401k-matching/72472360007/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
