Employers now offer student loan 401(k) match: What it’s like

When Amber Steeves started working at Verizon almost 15 years ago, she did one of the best things you can do when you start a new job. She enrolled in the company’s 401(k) program to begin saving for retirement.

“I was never financially stable, and that was a goal,” she tells CNBC Make It. “OK, now I’m working, I need to be smart about my money,” she recalls telling herself.

Steeves started at Verizon right after college. Around the same time, she also started making monthly payments on her student debt, which was less than $15,000 when she graduated. Though she balances her debt payments and retirement savings well now, it wasn’t easy at first, she says.

“I was working paycheck to paycheck after graduating school and hitting the job market during the 2009 recession,” Steeves says. “A few times on and off for about six years, I had to ask for options such as lowering my monthly payments or a temporary forbearance due to unexpected life and financial circumstances.”

Verizon offers employees a 6% match on retirement contributions, which Steeves says she has been taking full advantage of “since day one.” But now Steeves, who works as an accommodations team member at the company, has the opportunity to get even more out of her employee benefits. 

This past December, Verizon announced it would begin offering 401(k) matching for student loan payments.

“It felt like April Fool’s, I did not believe it,” she says. The company, like many others, had a tuition assistance program in place, but Steeves says she often joked with colleagues or friends at other companies about their employers offering a benefit for educational debt. 

“[It] still kind of doesn’t feel real, even though I’ve signed up for it, I have it ready,” she says. “I really can’t put it into words because I’ve never heard of a company offering this type of benefit before.”

Verizon employees are eligible to enroll in the company’s Secure Your Future plan as early as their first…