This article is the second part of a series on 10 Things Employers Need to Know About Student Loan Debt. Catch up with Part One, here.

Americans owe a combined $1.4 trillion in student loan debt — and employers are starting to feel the burden of that enormous debt. The vast majority of employees are financially stressed, and they are less focused, less engaged and less productive than those without debt and are more likely to take one a second job or skip work due to a stress-related illness.

The student loan debt crisis isn’t going away, but there are ways you help your employees cope with their financial stress and get back to work. Here are 10 important things you need to know about student loan debt and the struggle your employees are facing in paying it back:

6. Student loan debt is not a millennials-only problem.

Younger employees aren’t the only ones dealing with the stress of student loan debt. In fact, 2.8 million Americans aged 60 and older carry outstanding student loans from their own college education. This number is up significantly from 2005, where only 700,000 Americans in this age group carried outstanding loans. Your older employees may be struggling to repay debt from continuing education or are possibly paying off debt from sending a child or grandchild to school.

7. Stress over student loan debt is keeping your employees from major life milestones.

Millennials graduating with student loans are more interested in paying off their loan debt than they are in homeownership, getting married or having children. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found that having student loan debt decreases homeownership at every level of higher education. Indebted millennials also less likely to set aside money for retirement or build an emergency fund, creating further vulnerability, possible additional financial debt and significant stress into the future.

8. Stress over student loan debt is making your employees sick.

Over half of young workers with student loan debt worry about it constantly, according to American Student Assistance, a nonprofit specializing in helping consumers finance their higher education. Stressing about massive debt isn’t just an emotional strain, it can also cause significant physical ailments from occasional headaches or gastrointestinal problems, to more chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or depression and anxiety.

9. Most employees wish they had more information about repaying student loan debt, they just don’t know where to look.

Repayment options for student loan debt are often complicated and difficult for consumers to navigate on their own. With private loans, interest rates and monthly payments can change with little to no warning. Certain options, like consolidation or forgiveness, often requires knowledge of how to make negotiations with whoever holds the loan. Don’t let your employees feel overwhelmed by their debt – employers hold a unique ability to help their employees manage their student loan debt and help build their financial literacy.

10. Most employees want their employers to provide them with resources on student loan debt.

Employees already rely on their Human Resources departments for information on workplace safety, benefits and managing retirement plans. Increasingly, they are looking to their employer and HR team to provide debt counseling, financial tools and management options and overall financial wellness. By offering debt counseling and financial literacy services, you show your employees that you understand the financial challenges they face paying back student debt and are invested in their wellbeing. Your employees will not only feel happier to work for an employer who cares about their wellness; as their financial wellbeing grows and their student loan debt decreases, your employees will be healthier, more present, more productive, and ready stick with your company for the long term.

Financial literacy and financial planning are key to reducing financial stress, student loan debt and creating financial wellness. The first step, however, is knowing how to get there. For your employees, student loan debt affects their ability to plan for the future and build productive and meaningful relationships. For employers, it means being able to attract and hold on to talented employees. Consider who in your workforce might be affected by significant student loan debt. The cost of a higher education shouldn’t cost your company a good work force and it shouldn’t hold your employees back from planning their future.

To get the complete picture about student loan debt and your employees, be sure to read Part One of this article here.

More on Student Loan Debt and Financial Stress

Employee Student Loan Debt: 10 Things You Need To Know, Part One

Employee Student Loan Debt: 10 Things You Need To Know, Part Two

Student Debt Financial Stress Haunts Millennials and Older Workers, Too

What Tops Financial Stress for Employees?

The Student Debt Crisis is Growing and Affecting Your Workforce. What Can You Do?

The U.S. has a student loan debt crisis. And employers are paying the price.

Over 44 million Americans are carrying a total of $1.48 trillion in student loans. Forty percent of adults under 30 and 16 percent of adults overall live with outstanding student loan debt, according to the federal reserve’s 2017 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking.

Chances are, your employees are among those affected. Employees facing significant student loan debt are more likely to defer saving for retirement, buying a home, getting married and having children. They’re also more likely to seek out a second full-time or part-time job to cover their expenses. As a result, their concentration, productivity and overall physical health suffers from the accumulated financial stress.

The financial cost of higher education is only increasing with time, matriculating well-educated, inexperienced and deeply indebted graduates into the workforce. In this two-part series, we offer you 10 things you should know about how student loan debt affects your employees:

1. Student loan debt is the second-biggest type of personal debt in the United States.

Student loans are one of the largest contributors to overall household debt among Americans, second only to mortgage debt. While the overwhelming majority of those loans are federally held, there has been an increase in borrowing from private lenders. Private student loans are ineligible for loan forgiveness programs or income-based repayment programs, complicating repayment plans and decisions on where (and how) to seek debt relief.

2. The amount of student loan debt Americans owe is getting worse with time.

In February of 2017, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that student loan debt had grown for the 18th consecutive year and that the amount borrowed doubled in the last eight years, reaching a total more than $1.48 trillion owed. Not only are more students are taking loans for higher amounts but they are paying them back at a slower pace than in the past.

3. Student loan debt is affecting your workforce.

Sixty-eight percent of all new college graduates have student debt. Even if your employees don’t have significant amounts of student debt themselves (which is a relative assessment), they’re likely to have friends or relatives who do. Student loan repayment plans average at $351 per month and that number isn’t going down any time soon. It’s important to note that the average annual US salary for 24 to 35 year olds is $39,000. Student loan repayments are killing your employees’ financial wellness and are averaging nearly 10 percent of their income, replacing retirement contributions, mortgage payments and possibly even monthly health insurance costs.

4. The average debt per student has risen to nearly $30,000.

One fifth of graduated student loan recipients aged 25-39 take on extra employment in order to make payments on their student loan debt. Employees working a second job can mean lower productivity while at work and a difficulty in maintaining a reliable work schedule. Overworked employees are also more likely to experience fatigue and burnout from the added stress of juggling multiple jobs – as well as the stress from their student loan debt.

5. The average interest rate per student loan is approximately 5 percent, meaning your employees actually end up paying back significantly more than what they borrowed.

The interest rate paid by a loan recipient is dependent upon which type of loan and repayment plan that they have been given. For federal loans, the current amount for direct subsidized and unsubsidized (the type provided to undergraduates) loans is 4.45 percent. At the graduate level, the interest rate is 6 percent. For people 60 and over who take out loans to help younger relatives, the rate is 7 percent. Private student loans carry interest rates averaging 9 to 12 percent. Depending on the repayment or consolidation plans, these high interest rates can quickly inflate the initial amount of the loan and add tens of thousands of dollars to what an individual is trying to repay. And, interest and late fees are paid before any monthly payments are applied to the original loan amount.

And there’s even more you need to know. To learn more about student loan debt and your employees, be sure to read Part Two of this article here.

More on Student Loans and Financial Stress

Employee Student Loan Debt: 10 Things You Need To Know, Part One

Employee Student Loan Debt: 10 Things You Need To Know, Part Two

Student Debt Financial Stress Haunts Millennials and Older Workers, Too

What Tops Financial Stress for Employees?

The Student Debt Crisis is Growing and Affecting Your Workforce. What Can You Do?