SEATTLE, May 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The world's only comprehensive and patented flexible benefits platform, PTO Exchange, today announced the launch of its latest solution, PTO Education. PTO Education empowers companies to give their employees the flexibility to apply the monetary value of their unused paid time off to pay down their student loan debt.
"Employers are in a distinct position to help people address the national crisis of mounting student loan debt, now at an all-time high of $1.5 trillion and continuing to rise as higher education costs increase," said Rob Whalen, CEO & co-founder, PTO Exchange. "Our goal from day 1 is to allow employees to tap into the cash value of their unused paid time off in whatever ways are most beneficial to them -- from travel to charity. As the student loan crisis in this country reaches a boiling point, the time to act is now, and it's incumbent upon employers to help their employees tap into an existing asset pool that sits dormant -- the over $62.2 billion dollars left unused by employees in their paid time off benefit."
PTO Education features allow companies to:
- Leverage the PTO Exchange's patented platform to integrate into various student loan repayment or refinancing merchants, such as Tuition.io, Gradifi, Fidelity and Peanut Butter.
- Match a portion of the payments employees make through the platform if they want to help accelerate their payments or invest in education.
- Give employees the ability to use some of their paid time off value to help pay into 529 plans as well as offset the cost of taking continuing education classes if the employee wants to build their skills.
- Stay compliant, as PTO Exchange is the only platform that is compliant in all fifty states.
"We launched conversations with companies such as Tuition.io years ago about the possibilities of leveraging the PTO Exchange platform to accelerate student loan payments, but it's just recently that companies are starting to get it," continued Whalen. "In our conversations with some of the largest employers in the country, we identified yet another need -- that of employees needing funds for rainy days -- that can be addressed using existing unused paid time off."
That's why the company today also announced the launch of another solution, PTO E-Cash, which allows employees to access their paid time off in times of an emergency. Employees can now stop prematurely diluting their 401(k) retirement funds or become trapped in fruitless pay-day loan cycles to meet their immediate cash needs when life's emergencies arise, especially for the majority of American workers who live paycheck to paycheck. The financial stability this solution provides can lead to enhanced employee reliability and productivity, as well, while reducing employee stress and stress-related health issues.
The new PTO Education and PTO E-Cash solutions join previous solutions from PTO Exchange that allow employees of customer companies to exchange the value of their unused PTO time for donations, for colleagues needing more time off or for travel via PTO Exchange partner, Priceline.com.
About PTO Exchange
PTO Exchange empowers employees to personalize their workplace benefits. For the first time ever, employees can convert unused paid time off into tangible goods and services, including vacations, retirement funding, student loans and charitable donations. For more information, visit https://www.ptoexchange.com.
SOURCE PTO Exchange
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