401(k) Student Loan Match Perk Hindered by Employer Hesitation

Companies have been slow to offer an enticing new perk—a 401(k) match for employees’ student loan payments—because of compliance and logistical concerns even as the IRS cleared the way for employers to provide the benefit.

While offerings from administrators like Betterment LLC, Fidelity Investments, and SoFi Technologies have already been marketed as services to facilitate matching for student loan payments, plan sponsor uptake appears to be lagging.

Employers are hesitant to roll out this component of their retirement benefits package due to additional complexities posed by the task of proving plan participants have made eligible student loan repayments, given the ...