Competency
Analyze total rewards policies and procedures for federal law compliance.
Scenario
You are the Director of Compensation and Benefits of a publicly traded organization. Yesterday, the Chief HR Officer confided to you that she is concerned about the increasing difficulties the company is having in retaining high-performing millennial employees. She intends to present a proposal to the CEO and COO outlining a new total rewards system to increase retention among this employee group. Part of the proposal will include recommendations for a revised offering of discretionary benefits. She has heard about a new benefit offering in other companies student loan repayment. However, she does not know any specifics about this potential benefit. In order to finalize the new total rewards mix, she needs to have a clear understanding of the potential advantages and disadvantages of offering this discretionary benefit to all employees.The Chief HR Officer has tasked you with preparing a white paper that details specifics about a student loan repayment benefit, as well as potential advantages and disadvantages for the company offering such a benefit to all employees.
Instructions
Prepare a white paper for the Chief HR Officer that:
- Describes a student loan repayment program as a discretionary benefit.
- Compares different forms of the discretionary benefit and how their policies and procedures comply with federal law.
- Discusses legal ramifications of a student loan repayment benefit in regards to taxation and retirement (use IRS website to obtain this information see below).
- Argues the advantages and disadvantages of such a discretionary benefit to both the employee and to the company.
- Provides recommendation to the chief HR officer to either include or exclude this benefit from the proposed total rewards system; include reasoning for the recommendation.
- Provides attribution for credible sources used in the white paper.
