NEW YORK–As student debt grows, so do plans for paying it down or even eliminating it, according to a new report, which noted some of the ideas are “pretty creative.”
CNBC said three new ideas for helping borrowers pay down debt have been proposed recently, including:
- New Jersey is considering establishing a lottery for borrowers burdened by student debt. But any funds won wouldn’t be tax free. "All money you receive for volunteering or win on a trivia app or lottery is considered income by the IRS," Mark Kantrowitz, a student loan expert, told CNBC.
- More companies have begun to offer student debt assistance, although the actual number remains small at just 4%, according to CNBC. “But that's changing as more employers come to realize education debt is a problem for many of their workers, said Katie Berliner, account executive at YouDecide, a benefits firm. "In order to attract and retain talent, employers are looking at offering contributions to people's student loans," Berliner said.
Fidelity recently announced that 25 employers — including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, New York Air Brake and Millennium Trust — plan to implement its student debt employer contribution program, with 9,000 employees expected to enroll by the end of June. (Fidelity also offers a student debt benefit for its own employees.)
* Volunteerism. Some organizations will help people pay off their student loans if you offer to do volunteer work. For instance, sponsorchange.org can be searched to identify areas such as disaster relief or politics where they can receive payments to put toward education debt in return. Borrowers can also enroll with Shared Harvest Fund to create a profile and list the social causes they're interested in, such as gender equality or homelessness. Those individuals will work on projects for nonprofits and businesses and receive a monthly stipend of $250 to $1,000.
* Online Apps. According to CNBC, Giving is an app that lets student loan borrowers play trivia, with the winning team each week earning roughly $5,000 per person. "Some people are not the best trivia players, but they're motivated to get help with their student loans," said Seth Beard, Givling's chief marketing officer. The app ChangeEd will put spare change toward student loan payments. Borrowers can also register their student loan account with Gift of College, an education registry, and then share your profile with friends and family, who can contribute funds directly to your debt.
As CUToday.info also reported recently here, the prizes offered on one new TV game show are elimination of student loan debt.