More than half of all college graduates finish school with student debt, with the average amount per borrower nearing $30,000. Now that the Supreme Court has rejected President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan and the new repayment plan has yet to take shape, many borrowers are struggling to map out how to pay back what they owe.

Legislative solutions to the national student loan debt crisis range from debt forgiveness to capping students' borrowing power, but alternative solutions have also cropped up—including student loan payment support from your employer.

Tovuti LMS researched strategies companies across the U.S. implement to help employees pay or offset their student loan debts. From tuition reimbursement for ongoing education to paying for existing student loans, companies across the U.S. are adding student debt-focused benefits to their compensation packages to attract top talent.

Types of employer-led student loan support

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, education benefits from employers have been on the rise in the last several years, as they have proven to be a valuable way to attract and retain top talent.

This news is excellent for employees struggling with education payments, but the exact form of this assistance varies by company.

For instance, tuition assistance is a well-known education perk that can reduce student debt accrued. Essentially, a company will cover all or part of the cost of classes a worker takes while employed, expecting it will make them better at performing their jobs. This perk has some drawbacks, including not typically addressing pre-existing student loan debt. Additionally, most companies will include stipulations on the courses that qualify for this benefit, such as how long someone must work at the company to be eligible.

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Companies offering tuition assistance include the following.

• Starbucks—100% paid tuition for eligible programs at Arizona State University
• Chipotle—100% paid tuition for select programs and up to $5,250 per year for other programs
• Capital One—Tuition reimbursement for employees plus college coaching for their kids
• Target—Tuition-free education options from select partner schools
• UPS—Tuition assistance up to $5,250 per year ($ 25,000-lifetime cap) with no course restrictions
  
  

A more direct form of student-debt support some employers are taking is student loan assistance, which takes the form of additional payments to an employee compensation package and can come with tax benefits for the employer.

Employers can either match payments made directly to the employee's loan provider or provide additional compensation allocated to loan payments at the employee's discretion. Like with tuition assistance, employee eligibility can vary.