Q: You recently wrote about how to offer financial literacy assistance to employees who didn’t know how to manage their money, and how to help them thrive. Today I have a somewhat related question. One of my employees who’s been with us almost a year, confided that he was hoping for a good review and a salary increase at his yearly evaluation because he’s stressed out and feels like he’s drowning in student loans (about $50,000).

While I sympathize with his situation I explained it had no bearing in his raise.

However, I do want to help out, any suggestions?

A: Wow! $50,000 seems so huge, (that was the mortgage for our first home!)

I too sympathize with everyone currently going to college -which seems excessively and disproportionally expensive. Sure, my generation graduated with student loans too, but they were so much smaller.

So how can an employer help a financially overstretched and stressed out employee? Here are a couple of suggestions:

Have him try consolidation. Sometimes bundling several loans into one can make them easier to manage and it’s possible to renegotiate a better rate.

Try offering student loan repayment assistance as an employee perk. That’s right. Some employers are using it as an effective way to attract and retain talent. Currently only 8% of companies are offering it, but many more plan to add it in the next couple of years. So, you might want to float the idea to senior management. Most of the programs require employees to make the minimum payment and the employer then pays an additional amount of interest, say $50. Even that modest amount (which compares in cost to a gym membership, or other employee perk) could save the employee over $1,500 in interest and pay off the loan a year earlier (assumes a 50k loan, at 5% interest, for 10 years).

Lastly, this issue may be addressed next year depending on who wins the 2020 elections. Several candidates have proposed legislation that would give employers a tax break for this assistance –similar to the break they get from 401(k) contributions- while others are offering outright debt forgiveness.

Regardless, the burden of excessive debt is now being felt in the workplace. Hopefully more employers will consider offering help with this specific problem.

©Copyright Eva Del Rio

Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com