Assignment task:
You are the Director of Compensation and Benefits of a publicly traded organization. Yesterday, the Chief HR Officer confided to you that she is concerned about the increasing difficulties the company is having in retaining high-performing millennial employees. She intends to present a proposal to the CEO and COO outlining a new total rewards system to increase retention among this employee group. Part of the proposal will include recommendations for a revised offering of discretionary benefits. She has heard about a new benefit offering in other companies - student loan repayment. However, she does not know any specifics about this potential benefit. In order to finalize the new total rewards mix, she needs to have a clear understanding of the potential advantages and disadvantages of offering this discretionary benefit to all employees.
The Chief HR Officer has tasked you with preparing a white paper that details specifics about a student loan repayment benefit, as well as potential advantages and disadvantages for the company offering such a benefit to all employees.
Prepare a white paper for the Chief HR Officer that:
- Describes a student loan repayment program as a discretionary benefit.
- Compares different forms of the discretionary benefit and how their policies and procedures comply with federal law.
- Discusses legal ramifications of a student loan repayment benefit in regards to taxation and retirement (use IRS website to obtain this information - see below).
- Argues the advantages and disadvantages of such a discretionary benefit to both the employee and to the company.
- Provides recommendation to the chief HR officer to either include or exclude this benefit from the proposed total rewards system; include reasoning for the recommendation.