Posted on: June 25, 2025
Student loan debt isn’t just a young person’s burden anymore.
Today, millions of Americans in their 50s, 60s, and beyond are still paying down education loans—some their own, others taken out to help their children. Instead of focusing on retirement, many are budgeting for monthly student loan payments. For employers, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
If you’re designing benefits that support your entire workforce—not just recent grads—it’s time to take a closer look at how student loan repayment can help retain and support seasoned employees, too.
The Data: Student Debt Doesn’t Discriminate By Age
The numbers tell a compelling story. According to EducationData.org, federal student loan borrowers aged 50 to 61 owe an average of $46,790—a figure that’s increased more than 33% since 2017. For those aged 62 and older, the average balance is $43,392, with a similarly sharp rise over the past few years.
How did we get here? As reported by AARP, older Americans took on student debt for a variety of reasons:
- To upskill or earn promotions later in life.
- To pivot careers through additional education.
- To support their children’s education through Parent PLUS loans or private loans they co-signed—25% of which they’re repaying themselves due to default by the student.
The result? An increasing number of employees approaching retirement age are still managing debt originally meant to improve life prospects—for themselves or their families.
The Real-Life Impact on Employees
For employees in their 50s and 60s, student loan debt brings more than a monthly bill—it’s a source of persistent financial stress during a critical financial planning stage.
Here’s how that stress shows up:
- Delayed retirement planning as debt takes priority over saving.
- Reduced contributions to retirement accounts like 401(k)s.
- Increased anxiety that can impact mental health and job performance.
- Lower workplace engagement due to money worries.
- Longer workforce participation not by choice, but by necessity.
Instead of celebrating a career’s culmination, many older workers feel stuck in repayment mode. That stress doesn’t clock out at the end of the workday—and employers are noticing.
Why It Matters to Employers
Older employees bring invaluable experience, leadership, and loyalty. Losing them means losing institutional knowledge and mentorship that younger teams rely on.
Employers who want to build strong, multi-generational teams can’t overlook this population.
Offering support for older employees with student loan debt can help:
- Improve retention among tenured, high-value team members.
- Strengthen engagement by addressing a real, personal financial need.
- Demonstrate inclusiveness in your benefits strategy across age groups.
The message is clear: supporting older employees with education-related debt is just as important as supporting new graduates.
How a Student Loan Repayment Benefit Can Help
At BenefitEd, we make it simple for employers to support employees of any age who are burdened by student loan debt.
Here’s how student loan repayment works:
- Employer contributions are applied directly to the principal loan balance, helping employees pay off debt faster.
- The program is customizable and flexible, so you can tailor it to fit your workforce’s needs.
For employees in their 50s and 60s, these contributions aren’t just financial—they’re motivational. It shows them their employer sees them, supports them, and values their future.
Consider Implementing SECURE Act 2.0 Provisions as an Alternative
If you can’t afford to offer a student loan repayment benefit, there are other ways you can offer financial relief to your employees who struggle to save for retirement while paying off student loans. Take advantage of provisions of SECURE Act 2.0, which allow you to recognize employees’ student loan payments as qualifying contributions to your retirement plan for matching purposes. In this way, you can provide relief by enhancing your employees’ retirement saving.
Administrators like BenefitEd can help you figure out how to get started with implementing these provisions.
Bonus: Pair With Financial Wellness or Retirement Planning
These education benefits work even better when integrated into a larger financial wellness strategy.
Consider pairing them with:
- Financial coaching to help older employees rebalance their retirement plans.
- Tuition benefits to demonstrate your financial support for their continuing education and career growth.
- 401(k) match contributions to ensure debt repayment doesn’t crowd out savings.
- College savings plans to allow employees to save for future family education needs rather than take on more debt.
When you take a holistic approach, the impact goes far beyond student loans—it’s about empowering employees to feel in control of their financial lives again.
It’s Time to Rethink Who Needs Help
Student loan repayment benefits aren’t just for your newest hires.
They’re also for your most experienced leaders. Your long-tenured employees. Your soon-to-be retirees who are still managing yesterday’s debt.
By offering meaningful support through programs like BenefitEd, you’re doing more than reducing balances—you’re reinforcing commitment, loyalty, and financial well-being across generations.
A small monthly investment from your organization can deliver outsized returns—for your people and your bottom line.
Get Started Today
Learn more about how you can make a meaningful difference for your older employees—and your organization—by supporting their student debt repayment. Contact BenefitEd’s expert team to create a custom education benefits package that fits your budget and business goals—and helps your employees thrive.