Walgreens announced the launch of its new Student Loan 401(k) Match Program on Wednesday, available to employees beginning January 2025.
The program follows a SECURE 2.0 provision that allows employees to maximize on 401(k) savings when paying down student debt. According to Walgreens, the program treats student loan payments like contributions to the Walgreens Retirement Savings Plan 401(k). Walgreens will also match eligible student loan payments up to 4% of eligible pay. Employees, who Walgreens described as “team members,” are eligible for the program after one year and after completing 1,000 hours of service.
“We understand the burden student loan debt places on many of our team members, and this program empowers us to make a lasting impact on their financial well-being,” said Elizabeth Burger, EVP and chief human resources officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance, which owns the retail pharmacy chain. “With this new benefit, our team members are no longer faced with the difficult choice between managing their student loan debt and investing in a secure financial future – now they can confidently do both.”
Walgreens also cited substantial loan debt from its employees for its reasoning in offering the new program. Roughly 30% of Walgreens employees face financial debt from higher education, including more than half of its pharmacy team members. Pharmacists are among the top professions with the most student loan debt, averaging a debt amount of $170k, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Along with its new student loan debt benefit, the pharmacy chain is also offering a Pharmacy Educational Assistance Program (PEAP) to provide tuition assistance for eligible team members enrolled in a professional pharmacy program while working for Walgreens as a pharmacy intern. Students will have to sign a one-year work commitment as a registered pharmacist at Walgreens for each year they receive an award, which can total to as much as $40,000.
Walgreens follows a string of massive chains now introducing student loan repayment assistance programs. Earlier this year, Hart House, a plant-based restaurant chain founded by actor and entrepreneur Kevin Hart, along with Chipotle, both announced student loan benefits aimed at paying off debt while saving for retirement.
Pushes to offer student loan matching benefits and assistance programs come amid increasing employee demand. According to a recent 2024 DC Plan Participant Survey by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, nine in 10 respondents believe financial wellness programs to be valuable, and well over half find SECURE 2.0 provisions, such as employer-sponsored emergency savings accounts and student loan matching, to be an attractive feature.
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