Pennsylvania House Passes Bill to Ease Student Debt: Companies Offered Incentives for Funding Workers’ College Savings Accounts
Pennsylvania House Passes Bill to Tackle Student Debt with Tax Credit Initiative. (PHOTO: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Addressing College Affordability: Lawmakers Seek Relief for Pennsylvanians Amid Soaring Student Debt
Legislators in Pennsylvania, according to 6 ABC, are proposing a house passes bill measure that provides incentives to companies who fund their workers’ college savings accounts to lessen the load of student debt. The measure, which passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives with overwhelming support, suggests a tax credit for businesses that contribute up to $500 per year to each worker’s 529 plan-style college savings account. To lessen dependency on borrowing for education, these accounts are intended to pay educational costs ranging from K–12 education to college or career training. The house passes bill authors contend that these steps are necessary to lessen the financial burden on students, given that student debt has skyrocketed to an astounding $1.77 trillion nationwide. Particularly Pennsylvania suffers with college affordability, coming in close to the bottom across several measures. High tuition costs combined with heavy student loan debt present a dismal image for many Pennsylvanians who want to go to college. To give students and families struggling with school costs much-needed help, lawmakers are pushing employers to contribute to tuition savings accounts.
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Equitable Distribution: Proposed Legislation Mandates Equal Contributions to Employee Tuition Savings Accounts
Under the proposed legislation employers would be required to distribute contributions equally among all employees who possess tuition savings accounts. The potential impact is substantial with an estimated 600,000 tuition savings accounts held by Pennsylvania employees. If each eligible account were to receive the maximum contribution, the state could incur an annual cost of approximately $65.7 million. As the house passes bill advances to the state Senate its passage could mark a significant step forward in addressing the challenges of college affordability in Pennsylvania.
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