Whether to prioritize paying down student debt now or saving for future retirement is a difficult choice, especially for low-wage workers. The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 allows employers to match employees’ qualified student-debt payments with contributions into their retirement plans, essentially allowing the employee to save and invest while paying down debt. This research brief draws upon data from the Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility survey of a nationally representative sample of vulnerable workers in the United States to examine how such student-loan matching programs affect the retirement savings behaviors of how low-wage workers and how offering these programs would affect employee perceptions of their employer.
IMPLICATIONS for SECURE 2.0
This is the fourth research brief in a series examining the implications of the SECURE 2.0 Act for the retirement security of low-wage workers in the United States. All briefs in the Implications for SECURE 2.0 series can be found here.
Project: Retirement With Dignity
Citation
Roll, S., Despard, M., & Zhang, G. (2025). Matching student debt payments with retirement contributions has high appeal for low-wage workers: Implications for SECURE 2.0 (CSD Research Brief No. 25-13). Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://doi.org/10.7936/njam-jy38