The federal government has found success in attracting millennial workers by paying off student loans.
During 2014, 33 federal departments and agencies paid out more than $58.7 million to about 8,500 employees in student loan repayment benefits, according to The Washington Post. The information, from a report by the Office of Personnel Management, detailed the program.
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Loan repayment programs are one benefit the federal government offers to entice millennials to become public servants. Apparently, it works — the benefit was used by 15 percent more employees compared to 2013.
Given that millennials as a percentage of the federal workforce is at the lowest point in a decade, the government has had to get creative. Millennials report being less satisfied working for the government than other public servants. When an opportunity in the private sector offers better job satisfaction and a higher salary, fewer young workers will stick around.
Almost 80 percent of the benefits went to workers at the Departments of Defense, Justice, State, Veterans Affairs, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The program peaked in 2011, when 10,134 federal workers received benefits totaling $85.7 million.
As the economy improved, recipients and total payments declined until 2014.
The Department of Defense used the repayment program to target engineers; almost 600 used the program, whereas the Department of Justice targeted special agents and intelligence analysts, and the Department of State filled civil service and Foreign Service positions using the program.
Agencies that provide the benefit report that it has helped their recruitment and retention, but note that tax liabilities of student loans, along with the increasing levels of student debt, “decreases the value of the incentive.”
Workers can receive a maximum of $10,000 in repayment benefits during a calendar year, up to a maximum of $60,000 if an employee agrees to work for an agency for at least three years.
