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Leahannah Taylor graduated from Rutgers University with a master’s degree in biomedical sciences – and $59,000 in student debt – in 2019. She’s now debt-free. It took her less than two years to wipe out her student loan balances, she said, thanks to an enticing incentive offered by her employer.
« My strategy was to attack the debt, » said Taylor, 27, a clinical specialist for the medical devices company Abbott. « I wanted to be in the black as soon as possible. »
She tackled her debt while enrolled in Abbott’s « Freedom 2 Save » program. An employee must use at least 2% of their eligible pay to whittle down student loans. Then, « the company kicks in a 5% contribution to the employee’s 401(k) account, without them having to contribute a dime, » according to Abbott’s website.
« I understand the importance of compound interest, » said Taylor. « So contributing to retirement sooner rather than later was very important to me. »
Abbott’s program, which started in 2018, has attracted 1,800 employee participants. It increased in popularity during the pandemic, with a 50% rise in the monthly average number of employee sign-ups in the past two years, according to Mary Moreland, Abbott’s executive vice president of human resources.
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