
IRS ruling allows 401(k) student loan benefits - MBCook
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/irs-ruling-allows-401k-student-loan-benefits-2018-08-27
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MBCook
Making it easier to repay student loans with other people’s money will surely
fix the student loan crisis.

How could it possibly make it worse?

Sigh.

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jakamau
I don't see this decision using "other people's money" to repay student loans.

From what I read in the article, the employee would earn match benefits up-to-
but-not-exceeding normal limits for money they put in towards their student
debt and 401K retirement.

e.g. Employee A has no student debt and contributes $5,000 to their employer's
401k program - qualifying them for a $5,000 employer match to their
retirement.

Employee B has student debt and contributes $4000 to their student debt
payment and $1,000 towards their employer's 401k program - qualifying them for
a $5,000 employer match to their retirement.

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MBCook
That was my reading too.

I’m just assuming this is going to be a standard benefit pretty fast. And now
instead of saving for retirement at a youn age (compound interest is a very
powerful thing) and instead use this benefit to pay off their loan.

But I worry people will just interpret this as ‘your job will help pay off
your loans’ and this be willing to take on more/bigger loans than they would
otherwise.

So now they’re on the hook for more and don’t get the retirement benefit they
could have elected for.

It can be used well, I worry it won’t be.

