North Carolina companies and others throughout the country routinely offer employees health care or other benefits. Today, it is becoming more common for employers to offer individuals ways to pay down their debts or avoid going into debt. For instance, TrueConnect offers emergency loans so that employees don’t have to turn to payday lenders during a time of financial hardship. MedPut provides interest-free loans that are repaid through payroll deductions as well as helping to negotiate existing medical debts.
According to data from Mercer, financial stress costs businesses in the United States up to $250 billion a year. Therefore, it is important that employers offer solutions to remove or reduce that stress if possible. In some ways, it can be just as important as focusing on physical fitness to keep workers healthy and reduce insurance costs. An insurance company called Unum allows employees to convert unused paid time off to cash that is used to help pay off student loans.
Research has shown that workers of all income levels can have a hard time making ends meet. Of those who borrowed money from HoneyBee in 2018, 26 percent made more than $50,000 a year. Another 22 percent of borrowers made $30,000 or less in the same year while the rest made between $30,000 and $50,000.
Those who have medical bills, student loan debt or other balances to repay may benefit from some from of debt relief. Debt relief may include consolidating high-interest balances at a lower rate or having a portion of a principal balance forgiven. An attorney may be able to negotiate with creditors on a client’s behalf. It might also be possible for credit counselors or other financial professionals to provide assistance. Debtors themselves may also seek debt relief from their creditors directly.
