美国国家公共电台 NPR A New Benefit: Some Companies Help Workers Pay Down Student Loans

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The size of the average student loan has nearly doubled over the past decade or so. Collectively, Americans carry more than $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, and some employers are seeing that as an opportunity. They're offering to help repay loans on workers' behalf as a way to attract and keep their talent. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE¹: Kelly O'Brien graduated from college six years ago with a political science degree and $28,000 in student loans.

KELLY O'BRIEN: It was stressful because coming out and having to have a payment of about $217 a month - it just seems like a lot of money to pay back when you don't really know where you're going to be working, how much you're going to be making.

NOGUCHI: O'Brien, now 27, wanted to save for a home or a wedding, but loan payments were her biggest roadblock.

O'BRIEN: I wanted to be debt-free before I got married and ideally come to the table with some savings².

NOGUCHI: Then a year and a half ago, O'Brien joined Fidelity³ Investments in Irvine, Calif., to work in client relations. She was told that after six months, she'd be eligible⁴ to have the company contribute to her loan payments.

O'BRIEN: So I quickly marked my calendar. I called my parents that night and told them how excited I was because I had no idea an employer would help you pay off your student loans.

NOGUCHI: Such benefits are relatively⁵ new and unusual. Only 4 percent of employers surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management offer it, but you can see why it's increasingly popular, especially as school loans become a bigger shackle⁶. Data suggests student debt is delaying or preventing people in their 20s and 30s from buying homes. At the same time, unemployment is low and skilled workers hard to find. Employers who pay down student loans are more attractive, especially to younger workers. Kim Wylam is managing partner at Baker⁷ Tilly's human resource consulting group.

KIM WYLAM: Millennial⁸ turnover⁹ is different than any other generation before. And if I'm able to recruit somebody based off this benefit and then retain them for 12 or 24 months longer, then I'm getting a reward out of that.

NOGUCHI: There are possible downsides. Often, if an employee leaves before a certain amount of time, they must repay the money. But Wylam says that can backfire.

WYLAM: Sometimes, what we see is that an employee becomes disgruntled, and then they're working there simply because they don't want to have to repay.

NOGUCHI: But many say the upside is big. At Fidelity, for example, more than a quarter of its workers signed up for the program, which is only three years old. It pays up to $10,000 over five years. Asha Srikantiah, a vice¹⁰ president of Fidelity, says those who participate stay longer at the company.

ASHA SRIKANTIAH: For us, really focusing on retaining those people, especially after we've invested in training them, is a really important thing.

NOGUCHI: The program's success led Fidelity to now sell it as a service other employers can offer. Chatrane Birbal is director of congressional affairs for the Society for Human Resource Management. She says loan repayment¹¹ would be more affordable¹² to nonprofits and small businesses if Congress makes it tax-free for employers and workers.

CHATRANE BIRBAL: More employers might be able to offer student loan repayment as a benefit to their employees.

NOGUCHI: Even without the tax benefits, some employers say it's worthwhile. Madeline McIntosh is CEO of Penguin¹³ Random¹⁴ House, which started offering loan repayment two years ago. She says about 10 percent of the publishing company's 5,000 employees participate - including, she says, older people who return to school or took out loans for kids.

MADELINE MCINTOSH: I feel like it has really kind of outsized emotional or psychological benefits for employees. I feel like if they were ranking it, this would be up there at the top, and I don't think it's the most expensive.

NOGUCHI: It's cost the company about a million dollars to date - far less, she says, than what it spends on health insurance. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

3 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 shackle   

n.桎梏，束缚物；v.加桎梏，加枷锁，束缚

参考例句：

• He's too young to shackle himself with the responsibilities of a family.他还太年轻，不能用家庭责任来束缚自己。
• This issue always is a shackle which confines the brand building of industry product.这个问题一直是限制工业品品牌塑造的桎梏。

7 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

8 millennial   

一千年的，千福年的

参考例句：

• Both Russia and America looked to the future to fulfill their millennial expectations. 俄国和美国都把实现他们黄金时代的希望寄托于未来。
• The millennial generation is celebrating the global commons every day, apparently unmindful of Hardin's warning. 千禧一代显然对哈丁的警告不以为然，每天都在颂扬全球“公地”。

9 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

12 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

13 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

14 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。