At online bank Ally, education benefits including
For its employees, these offerings meet two essential areas of concern: Financial relief and access to learning opportunities for
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New financial challenges
Employees with student loan debt are already forced to balance competing financial priorities, and that will only get more difficult in the coming months and years. Legislation included in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act will soon end current federal student loan repayment plans for new borrowers, leaving them with just two, more expensive, options to choose from. Those with debt already may face higher monthly payments as their current plans are phased out.
With less money to spend and facing higher payments in the future, employees may be hesitant to put money toward their own education, or less able to contribute to things like college savings accounts, such as 529s, for their families. Ally wants employees to prioritize planning for past, present and future education for themselves and their dependents, says Gwen Gollmer, the company's executive director of total rewards. As such, their benefits plan offers a suite of options personalized to each family's unique financial picture.
"We provide $100 a month for both student loan assistance and 529s, with a lifetime limit of $10,000 — you can sign up for one or both," she says. "The student loan assistance can go to a loan in your name, whether it's for your own education or someone you were kind enough to fund through their education. The 529 contributions work similarly. We looked at that as something that appealed to a broader group of employees throughout the organization."
In 2024, Ally contributed over $2.3 million in student loan payments, leading to the payoff of 146 loans. It also funded over 4,000 529 accounts, which can be used for a wide variety of K-12 and higher education expenses — adding over $3.5 million in contributions. Additionally, its tuition reimbursement benefit, which also goes up to $10,000, covered over $2.1 million in costs for employees.
"Our ambition is to become America's most extraordinary financial ally for our customers and communities, and internally for our own employees," Gollmer says. "Rolling out something like financial assistance to continue your education fits right in with the other things that we're doing to help our employees gain financial resilience and be ready for retirement when that time comes."
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The impact on employees and employers
Encouraging employees to grow professionally by subsidizing their higher learning and skill-building efforts puts both them and their employer on a path to positive outcomes. Ally's focus in this area has paid off — evident through their 93% retention rate for high performers.
"When people are starting to think about other roles, considering what they want and what skills and knowledge they need to continue to progress their career, we have the benefits, and can have that conversation, and then the financial barrier is lessened," Gollmer says. "We try to erode barriers so that folks can achieve their goals."
Broad communication tactics, including emails, meetings, surveys and more help spread awareness and boost utilization, Gollmer says.
"We rank in the top 10% of companies globally for employee engagement, and we are seven points higher than the financial services benchmark." she says. "The offerings we choose to put together and roll out to our employees and the way we engage with them to learn about what we offer feeds into that significantly."
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As people look for employers that take a vested interest in their financial health and long-term tenure, a well-constructed education benefits package is a good way to meet the needs of any demographic and any workforce. It also draws people who may not use the benefits, but are looking for a company that actively cares about its employees.
"When you offer these benefits, a lot of it comes back to you," she says. "We know an employee's own education and education for their family members are moments that matter, and then there's the trickle-down effect, where other folks are just proud that we offer it."
Read more about education benefits and policy:
Bright Horizons' guide to implementing education benefits Tuition assistance benefits are helping one hospital recruit and retain nurses InStride study finds older employees want continuing education Emergency savings benefits address student loan and retirement stressors How Trump's new law overhauls student loans and 529s for benefit managers
