Upfront Tackling Student Loan Debt STRESS over financial issues has led many employers to expand programs to create a healthier, more productive workforce. Nearly one-third of respondents to an Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) survey said they offer or plan to offer a financial wellness initiative with benefits such as assistance with student loan debt consolidation and refinancing or with debt repayment. EBRI compared findings for " student-loan-debt-focused employers " with respondents that engage in more general financial wellness initiatives only. Student-loan-focused employers ... ... are more apt to already be the source or provider of a financial wellness initiative. 41% have drawn their initiative from mixed sources 33% are the source of the initiative 30% use a contracted financial wellness vendor ... are more apt to measure their employees' financial wellness condition. 68% examine existing employee benefit data 56% survey employees 46% hold focus groups 45% analyze quantitative employee data Source: EBRI's 2018 Employer Financial Wellbeing Survey ... measure the success of their financial wellness initiative in several ways. 38% measure employee financial stress 36% measure employee satisfaction 30% measure employee productivity ... cite the same common reasons for offering a financial wellness initiative. 56% say for employee retention 49% say to reduce employee financial stress PLANSPONSOR.com June - July 2019 11http://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2019/TrackLink.action?pageName=11&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2FPLANSPONSOR.com