PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021 - 40

PLAN PROFILE
Generous Means to an End
P
This plan sponsor's perk helps employees get free of student debt
eopleShare was co-founded
in 2005 by David Donald and
Ryan J. Q. Clark. Since then,
it has grown to 32 offices, located in
Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
PeopleShare connects companies
to top local talent for positions in
accounting, administration, customer
service, warehouse operations
and more.
PeopleShare Director of Human
Resources (HR) Crissy Kovacs, says,
" I don't think the younger generation
truly understands the importance of a
retirement plan. It seems so far away
to them, especially when they have
student loans to pay off. "
At the end of this January,
PeopleShare announced it would pay
$250 a month to help each individual
burdened with a student loan or loans
until each debt is eliminated.
The idea was partially Donald's,
Kovacs says. " We ran our plan
" Through 2025, employers may
continue to make contributions of up
to $5,250 per employee annually for
student loan assistance or tuition, "
she says. " We'd started talking about
this benefit before the pandemic. We
concluded that it was important for
our employees, so they can start to
save for the future, and it was time to
implement it. "
" Our employees have told us
their student loan debt is a huge
source of stress, " explains Donald.
" We hope this new benefit will
lessen some of that worry and help
them pay off that debt quicker. This
is our way of paying back the investment
our employees have made in
themselves. "
Of the company's 172 employees,
Crissy Kovacs, director of human resources
document by our benefits adviser to be sure it was compliant
with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 [CAA], signed
into law this past December 27. " The CAA extends for five years
COVID-19 relief that allows employer-provided student loan
repayment as a tax-free benefit to employees under Section 127
of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).
SNAPSHOT
PLAN SPONSOR: PeopleShare, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
KEY PLAYER: Crissy Kovacs, director of human resources
PLANS: 401(k) plan, nonqualified deferred compensation
(NQDC) plan
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 172
PARTICIPATION RATE: 44%
TOTAL PLAN ASSETS: $564 million
AVERAGE DEFERRAL RATE: 4%
43% are age 30 or under. Of the young
workforce, Kovacs says, " training and
supporting our employees from day
one helps with our overall staff retention
and employee engagement. "
When asked how PeopleShare first presented the benefit
to employees, Kovacs says it was rolled out during a companywide
video meeting. " David first gave a company update and at
the end of the meeting announced the benefit to everyone. The
employees went nuts. The 'thank you' messages and IMs went
crazy. " To date, more than 30 employees have inquired about
the loan repayment program.
Employees need to work for PeopleShare at least 90 days to
be eligible. On their first day, they may send HR their loan information.
The company will then contact their loan provider to get
a system set up for making payments when the time comes.
PeopleShare launched its retirement plans in 2017. The
nonqualified plan is for managers, and the 401(k) is for nonmanagement
employees. " Providing the two plans allows us
to offer a generous retirement vehicle to all of our full-time
employees, " Kovacs says.
" Our employees are the heart and soul of our company, "
says Clark. " It will help us get the best people to work and stay at
PeopleShare. This [student loan] benefit is the next step to showing
our employees just how much we care. " -Judy Faust Hartnett
40 PLANSPONSOR.COM February - March 2021 Art by Chris Buzelli
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2021

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