Two programs from Tuition.io, the leading platform for student loan
contributions, now available through MassMutual’s MapMyFinances
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As student loan debt reaches epidemic proportions, Massachusetts Mutual
Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) is introducing a new student loan
repayment and management program for the workplace as part of a broader
financial wellness initiative.
MassMutual is making a student loan program available to employers
through Tuition.io, the leading platform for student loan contributions,
to help workers better manage and reduce their indebtedness. The student
loan program is available through MapMyFinances, MassMutual’s new
workplace financial and benefits planning tool, to help workers assess
and balance their short- and long-term financial needs.
“More than 40 million Americans are burdened by a total of $1.5 trillion
in student loan debt1, which amounts to an average of $37,000
in outstanding indebtedness per worker upon graduation2,”
said Tina Wilson, Head of MassMutual’s Investment Solutions Innovation.
“Carrying such a heavy debt burden makes it difficult for many people to
address other financial needs, particularly saving for retirement.”
“Companies that want to attract the newer generations of workers should
consider that 51 percent of young employees said help with student loan
repayments would be their most important benefit3,” said
Scott Thompson, CEO of Tuition.io. “A student loan benefit can also
encourage employees to stay at the company longer, and build stronger
company loyalty.”
The Tuition.io program provides two levels of support for student loan
indebtedness, both of which help borrowers better manage their student
debt, including one that allows employers to provide financial
assistance to extinguish debts.
The student loan repayment option available through Tuition.io is called
“Student Loan Contributions” and allows employers to make payments
towards an employee’s student loan indebtedness. Some employers elect to
provide student loan repayment assistance to employees with the goal of
enhancing their employees’ overall financial wellness and freeing up
money for longer-term financial goals such as saving for retirement,
according to Thompson. Employers can also choose to make payments
towards student loans that parents have taken out for their children,
known as Parent PLUS loans.
Additionally the Tuition.io student loan wellness section of the portal
helps borrowers manage their debt by creating a consolidated summary of
all student loans for each participating employee by pulling in data
from multiple loans and loan servicers. The Tuition.io platform works
with every US loan servicer – including both federal and privately held
loans — to generate automatic real-time updates whenever loan payments
are made.
With all loan data available in one place, employees can more easily
model different loan repayment options as well as determine if paying
extra to certain loan providers can potentially save on the amount of
interest paid in the long run. Employees can also more easily assess
whether refinancing makes sense for their personal situation. The
student loan wellness section of the portal can be made available to
eligible employees’ family members as well to provide the same loan
management tools and capabilities.
Once the Student Loan solution has been elected by an employer and
implemented through Tuition.io, MassMutual integrates the program as
part of its MapMyFinances financial wellness tool. Employees can use the
tool to add student debt repayment to their financial “To Do” list and
use an actionable link to Tuition.io’s employee online experience,
leveraging single sign-on from MapMyFinances.
The student loan program has a cost associated with it. Tuition.io helps
employers project both the program and loan repayment potential costs,
and weigh them against the projected benefits.
“The thousands of dollars in student loans that many Americans shoulder
is proving to be a real barrier to financial wellness, both in the short
and long term,” Wilson said. “MassMutual is introducing Tuition.io to
workplace customers as part of our overall mission to enhance the
financial wellness of all Americans.”
About Tuition.io
Tuition.io is the nation’s leading employee
benefit platform empowering employers to better attract, retain and
engage their next generation of talent who are saddled with stifling
student debt, by helping their employees reduce and better manage their
student loan burden. Tuition.io works with companies of all sizes, from
Fortune 500 companies such as Live Nation, Staples and Estée Lauder
Companies, to healthcare companies including Children’s Hospital &
Medical Center of Omaha and Mosaic Life Care, as well as public entities
such as the City of Memphis. Tuition.io is on a mission to provide an
impactful solution for employers and employees across the country. For
more information, visit www.tuition.io
or follow us at @Tuitionio.
About MassMutual
MassMutual is a leading mutual life
insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and
participating policyowners. MassMutual offers a wide range of financial
products and services, including life insurance, disability income
insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans and
other employee benefits. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.
12018, Student Loan Debt Statistics in 2018: A $1.5 Trillion
Crisis, https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2018/06/13/student-loan-debt-statistics-2018/#153e84c57310
22017, Population Distribution by Age, https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/distribution-by-age/
(US
Population in relation estimate of number of people between 22 and 65 in
relation to the 44 million figure above)
32017, American Student Assistance Study, https://d9jmqzwnxk1s1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/14141823/asa_young_worker_and_student_debt_survey_report-1.pdf
Tuition.io is not intended to be part of an employee benefit plan
covered by ERISA and is not related to the employer’s retirement plan.
Tuition.io is a separate benefit for an employer to implement that can
be integrated into MassMutual’s Financial Wellness experience. Student
loan “contributions” represent additional loan payments made from the
employer to the employee’s loan provider, and in no way relate to
contributions to a retirement plan.
RS-46817-00
Contacts
David Potter
Media Relations
860-562-1525
[email protected]
