Student Loan Debt: Framing The Challenges & Solutions

Based on the recent IRS private letter ruling I though this would be a good episode from the archives to repost. While this episode is almost two years old, my guest, Tony Aguilar, who at the time was the co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius could not be more current and relevant about the realities and challenges that come with student debt. What you might be surprised to hear is that nearly half of your workforce could be impacted and its not just a millennial thing!  Tony also does a nice job framing how employers have been adding solutions to help employees with their student loan debt as part of their wellness programs and how some employers are even making contributions towards employee student loans as a recruiting and retention tool!  What is the tie in to retirement you ask, well it wouldn't be the 401(k) Fridays podcast if we didn't address that at some point.  As you will hear, paying off debt has an impact on your employees' ability to save for retirement, however I was pretty excited to learn about some of the new tools and resources employers may offer to help to tackle both loan repayments and retirement savings! Guest Bio Tony Aguilar is co-founder and CEO of Student Loan Genius, Austin-based inventor of the first complete student loan employer benefits solution. Today he uses his years of experience as a financial advisor and founder of Amiti Advising and Campus Slice to help crush America's $1.3 trillion student loan problem. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and on CNN, his commitment to helping professionals get ahead and live a life free from debt is the common thread in all of his work. When he's not leading the team at Student Loan Genius, Tony is spending time with his 3-year old daughter. He can also be found guest lecturing at the University of Texas and Concordia University on entrepreneurship and personal finance, serving as Chairman of Concordia University's Emerging Leaders Advisory Board, or mentoring fellow social entrepreneurs and startups. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!