The employees who've signed up so far range from their early 20s to their 60s. The average amount of student loan debt held is $38,000, but the most anyone holds is over $300,000.

We know this financial concern is top of mind for most college graduates. A survey Abbott conducted with the global research firm YouGov showed us that 9 out of 10 college students with student loans are looking for a company with a student loan perk. Additionally, 6 in 10 working adults with student loans would consider switching companies to gain a student debt employee benefit.

"We had listened to our own employees and recruits in the U.S., but we were interested in hearing what people outside of Abbott with student loans were thinking," said Abbott Executive Vice President of Human Resources Steve Fussell. "What we learned was this issue matters more than we even knew."

The survey of 2,600 U.S. adults also revealed:

• 64% of all adults with student loans say finding a company that offers a student loan benefit is important

• 42% of adults with student loans aren’t saving for retirement due to their student loans, including half of people with student debt ages 18-34 and a third of those over 55

• And three-fourths of Black and Hispanic Americans with student loan debt say finding an employer with a student debt employee benefit is important – half of them say it’s "very important"

About 4% of companies today offer a cash reward to help employees with student loans today – and one-third of employers are expected to follow suit by 2021.

Abbott found its structure to be more valuable for employees in the long run because the investment is worth more over time, as it grows tax-deferred; it is not taxed immediately as cash rewards are; and there are no strings attached –  no waiting period and no cap to the amount of the contribution.

Others have expressed interest in copying our innovative program structure. Abbott is currently the only company we know of with a private letter ruling from the IRS to structure our program in this unique way. But several bills have been introduced in legislature – with bipartisan support – that would make the Abbott model accessible to more companies. An industry group has also lobbied the IRS to expand its ruling to broaden it to other companies.

To learn more about benefits at Abbott, visit our Benefits Website.

^{* assuming 3% annual merit increases and 6% market return}