Frequently Asked Questions

Tuition.io is an employer-sponsored Education Assistance Benefit platform to help employees reduce the financial strain of student loan debt and to support continuing workforce education. Platform solutions include Tuition Assistance administration, Student Loan Repayment Assistance, Secure 2.0 Retirement Match, Public Service Loan Forgiveness administration, Student Loan Wellness, and 1:1 Student Loan Coaching and Education Mentorship.

Benefit options are tailored to each employer. If you are an employee and unsure what is offered, please login to your Tuition.io account for programs available to you.

No. Tuition.io is not a bank, lender, retirement plan sponsor, or other financial institution. We do not originate, refinance, or consolidate loans. We do not manage retirement funds.  We are the leading-most technology and live help platform for employers to offer education assistance benefits to their employees. Our business model has no conflicts of interest. We only serve the interests of our partners and their valued workforce.

We take data security extremely seriously. Extensive measures are taken to ensure data privacy and security, and we have met the most stringent compliance requirements.

Our technology carries best-in-class security, including encryption in transit using TLS 1.2+, and encryption at rest using AES256. Tuition.io is ISO 27001 compliant.

Student loan contributions are an impactful solution to reduce the financial stress of student loan debt on your employees. Employers can now make tax-free contributions to qualified student loans (up to $5,250 per year) as a valuable new benefit.

Student loan contribution payments made through a third-party servicer, such as Tuition.io, can be applied as a secondary payment to principal saving employees interest and time. Alternatively, payment can be applied to satisfy their minimum monthly payment to ease the immediate financial hardship or to complement a Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The national student loan debt burden is over $1.75 trillion and impacts more than 44 million borrowers. Over 70% of recent graduates enter the workforce with student loan debt. On average, it takes 21 years for individuals to repay their student loans. 

Student loans cause financial stress on all generations of the workforce, and limit employees’ ability to save, reducing the value of other benefits including a 401(k). Offering contributions or a Secure 2.0 retirement match can make an immediate impact on financial well being, and support long term financial security.

In a recent poll (502 employees between 22-33 years old), nearly 90% said they would commit to a job for five years if given assistance with student loan repayment.

Tuition.io first year clients see improvement in retention ranging from 20-80%. Recruiting and retention are expensive for employers, and benefits that prompt this level of interest make sense. We can help you estimate the ROI of offering a contribution benefit based on your specific workforce goals.

Plan design is critical to the success of a student loan contribution program. Tuition.io has expert partner success team members who will work with you to design a plan that meets your goals. Our team will help you understand key eligibility criteria for plans that aim to meet diversity and inclusion goals. We can also help you design a plan to target specific high need roles within your organization.

Some clients choose to implement the benefit for the whole population, some choose to offer the benefit to specific populations for key strategic initiatives - it’s entirely your choice.

Participation is related to specific employee demographics and the inclusivity of your program. Typical adoption ranges from 15-30% depending on program design and eligibility criteria.

Tuition.io offers a complimentary student loan debt census analysis to provide a more accurate company-specific estimation.  Our methodology is fully anonymized and doesn't involve any credit line inquiries. You will gain insight into the amount of student loan debt and debt-to-salary ratio for key segments of your workforce.

Student loan debt is not exclusive. We see participants of all ages with student loan debt and individuals >60 are the fastest growing group of borrowers. Student loan debt has a greater impact on BIPOC and women.  Feedback and requests from employees to management post-launch are often from employees that have loans but do not receive the benefit due to eligibility exclusions.

The need to address retention is paramount in almost every organization. Extensive training and development investments may never be realized if employees continue to leave an organization for marginal pay increases. It is becoming more clear that employers with student loan contribution programs have first mover advantage. Differentiating your company as an Employer of Choice often means winning key hires and retaining your best talent. Student loan contributions speak volumes to the market.

Tuition.io recommends an eight week implementation timeline. However, we can work at your pace. We recommend planning for at least 3 weeks for simple programs. Great effort is made to coordinate with Information Security, IT, Communications, HR and Benefits Administration, and Talent Acquisition to align branding, messaging and integration requirements. Launch dates may be subject to availability during open enrollment season to ensure each launch is given the dedicated attention from our partner success team.

When you partner with Tuition.io, your company will pay a monthly fee based on the products you wish to offer your employees. Please contact us for an estimated quote.

No, we will never ask your employees to pay for any services or try to sell your employees other products or services.

Contributions to your employees are provided in an imputed income file each month for your payroll team to track. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), allows employer-provided student loan repayment as a tax-free benefit to employees under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code. Through 2025, employers can continue to make contributions of up to $5,250 per employee annually toward eligible education expenses, like tuition or student loan assistance, without raising the employee's gross taxable income. Tuition.io tracks the combined $5,250 limit for all eligible educational assistance.

Tuition.io is compatible with all HR and Ben Admin platforms. Many employers select to integrate with Single Sign On (SSO) from their employee portal. During implementation, we will work with your HRIT Team or benefits administrator to set up a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP).