Highway’s mission is to help employers attract, retain, and motivate employees by providing benefits that really matter. We are proud to help companies achieve their talent goals with our first product, tax-free student loan repayment as a benefit.
When we started Highway Benefits, Cory and I had a firm belief that the best solution to solving the $1.7T dollar student debt problem should include employers. We quickly realized that offering student loan contributions as a benefit would help forward-looking employers differentiate themselves and attract and retain talent by taking on an issue that affects almost ⅓ of the workforce.
We started Highway Benefits not only to help get employees out of debt faster and pay less in interest, but also to give employers a leg up in attracting and retaining talent.
Workforces have changed dramatically over the last decade—Covid-19 especially has shifted the way we work—resulting in companies reflecting on how best to motivate and support their workforce through innovative compensation and benefits packages. In today’s competitive hiring landscape, companies, candidates, and employees alike are looking for benefits that will impact items that are top of mind.
Against this backdrop, the student debt crisis has been growing not so quietly and will soon surpass a total of $1.8T, affecting over 45 million people. The American workforce’s ability to pay back this debt is increasingly coming under question and becoming one of the leading causes of workplace stress. Studies have shown that a financially stressed workforce leads to a loss of productivity. Additionally, many debt holders are unable to take advantage of other benefits such as 401k or stock option plans due to massive debt payments taking up a large portion of every paycheck. Refinancing, collective bargaining for student loans, and other programs are all a step in the right direction, but we believe more can be done.
That’s why, at Highway, we have created a prescriptive solution for employers to both assist their employees with an extreme contributor to financial stress and create a benefits package that helps to attract and retain talent. Student loan repayment as a benefit is a win-win for multiple parts of the equation: employers and employees. With the pause on student loan repayments ending August 31, 2022 (payments have been on pause since March 2020), there has never been a better time to launch tax-free student loan repayments as a benefit. We at Highway are excited to continue our growth into 2022.
As we continue to grow into the next phase of Highway, we’re looking forward to connecting with many more people leaders who are excited about the ever changing landscape of benefits. If you or a member of your organization are interested in learning more about how Highway can help accelerate your growth, we’d love to hear from you! Talk to us today to learn more.