The SECURE 2.0 Benefits Your Employees Don't Know You Have (And the Dec. 31 Deadline You Can't Miss)

Modern workplace financial wellness illustration showing employees, student loan benefits, emergency savings, retirement planning, and a year-end deadline

Your benefits package may already include two powerful tools for financial stress.

Most employees do not know about them.

That is a problem.

Not because your company failed to offer benefits. Because nobody explained how to use them.

SECURE 2.0 created two underused options that can help employees manage student debt, build emergency savings, and stay connected to retirement planning:

  1. The Section 110 student loan match
  2. The Section 127 Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Account, or PLESA

For most calendar-year, non-governmental, non-collectively bargained plans, the plan amendment deadline is December 31, 2026.

The clock is running.

Important: This article is educational. Your retirement plan administrator, recordkeeper, third-party administrator, or benefits counsel should confirm how these provisions apply to your specific plan.

The problem: benefits nobody understands do not reduce turnover

You can offer a 401(k), health insurance, an HSA, and other benefits.

But if employees do not understand them, those benefits are not doing much work.

Ask your team these three blunt questions:

  1. Can you explain our 401(k) match in one sentence?
  2. Do you know whether your student loan payments could qualify for an employer match?
  3. Do you know where to find emergency savings inside your benefits package?

If the answers are mostly “no,” you do not have a benefits problem.

You have a benefits literacy problem.

PwC’s 2026 Employee Financial Wellness Survey found that 59% of employees are stressed about their finances right now. More than half have less than $5,000 saved for emergencies. Nearly one-third have less than $1,000.

The impact reaches the workplace.

PwC also reported that 85% of Gen Z respondents say financial stress affects their mental health, while 71% report reduced productivity.

That means financial stress is not just a personal issue. It can show up as distraction, burnout, missed work, lower engagement, and employees quietly looking for a company that offers better support.

Your benefits cannot help if employees do not know how to use them.

Benefit No. 1: The student loan match

Flat vector illustration showing an employee student loan payment moving toward an employer retirement match

What it does

Under SECURE 2.0 Section 110, an employer can treat an employee’s qualified student loan payments like retirement plan contributions for matching purposes.

Here is the simple version:

  • Your plan has a regular 401(k) match.
  • An employee is making qualified student loan payments.
  • The employee may be able to receive the same employer match, even if they are not contributing the same amount to the 401(k).
  • The plan uses the same general match formula, eligibility rules, and vesting rules.

For example, suppose your plan matches 50% of employee contributions up to 6% of pay.

An eligible employee who is paying qualified student debt may be able to receive that match based on those loan payments, subject to the plan’s rules and applicable limits.

That employee can start building retirement savings while paying down debt.

This matters because student debt often forces employees to choose between:

  • Paying the loan
  • Saving for retirement
  • Giving up the employer match

Section 110 can help remove that choice.

What employees have to do

Employees generally self-certify their qualified student loan payments.

A plan may allow annual certification. The employee confirms information such as:

  • The amount of the payment
  • The payment date
  • That the employee made the payment
  • That the loan is a qualified education loan
  • That the employee has the required legal obligation connected to the loan

The exact process depends on the plan and its administrator.

The important point is this: your employees may not need to submit a stack of paperwork every month. A reasonable annual certification process may be enough.

The deadline

For a calendar-year, non-governmental, non-collectively bargained plan, the plan generally must be formally amended by December 31, 2026 to include the student loan match feature.

That is not the same as mentioning the benefit in an employee email.

Your plan document needs to be handled correctly.

Talk with your plan administrator now. Do not wait until December.

Benefit No. 2: The PLESA emergency savings account

Flat vector illustration showing an emergency savings account connected to a retirement plan with a protective umbrella

What it does

A Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Account, or PLESA, is an emergency savings account connected to an employer retirement plan.

Under SECURE 2.0 Section 127:

  • The account is generally available to non-highly compensated employees.
  • Contributions are made with Roth dollars, meaning they are made after tax.
  • The employee can save up to $2,500, or a lower limit selected by the plan.
  • The account is designed for short-term emergencies.
  • The account can sit alongside long-term retirement savings.

The $2,500 limit applies to the contribution portion of the account and may be indexed over time.

The goal is simple: help employees build a cash cushion before a car repair, medical bill, family emergency, or other surprise forces them to use a credit card or raid retirement savings.

SECURE 2.0 created PLESAs because emergency savings and retirement savings serve different jobs.

One is for this month’s emergency.

The other is for a future that may be decades away.

Can you use both benefits?

Potentially, yes.

A PLESA can be paired with a Section 110 student loan match.

That gives employees two forms of support:

  • Student loan match: Helps employees continue building retirement savings while paying qualified education debt.
  • PLESA: Helps employees build short-term emergency savings without treating retirement accounts like checking accounts.

The plan design, matching rules, and administration still need to be reviewed carefully.

But for many small businesses, this combination deserves a serious conversation.

This is not solved by sending a PDF

A benefits guide is not benefits education.

A video library is not coaching.

An app is not a conversation with someone who can explain the difference between a deductible, an HSA, a 401(k) match, a loan payment certification, and an emergency savings account.

Your employees may feel overwhelmed. Some may feel embarrassed. Others may believe they should already understand money.

They do not need more jargon.

They need someone to walk through the decisions with them.

That is the difference between a benefits package and a usable benefit.

How to fix the benefits literacy gap without hiring an HR department

Flat vector illustration showing a four-step workplace financial wellness implementation path with coaching and a calendar deadline

Step 1: Confirm your plan type

Ask your plan administrator or third-party administrator:

  • Is the plan a calendar-year plan?
  • Is it non-governmental?
  • Is it non-collectively bargained?
  • Can the plan add a Section 110 student loan match?
  • Can the plan add a Section 127 PLESA?
  • What amendment process and fees apply?

Get the answers in writing.

Step 2: Decide what problem you are solving

Do not add a feature just because it is available.

Ask what your employees actually need.

Are younger employees delaying retirement contributions because of student debt?

Are employees taking hardship withdrawals or relying on high-cost credit?

Are hourly employees struggling to build any emergency savings?

Your answers should shape the design and the education.

Step 3: Create a simple employee explanation

Explain each benefit in plain English.

For the student loan match:

“Your qualified student loan payments may help you receive the employer match you would otherwise earn through retirement contributions.”

For the PLESA:

“You may be able to build emergency savings inside a Roth-style account connected to your retirement plan.”

Keep the legal details in the formal plan documents.

Keep the employee message understandable.

Step 4: Provide live education

This is where an employee benefits education program can make the difference.

FundWise provides live, practical education for small businesses. Sessions can be held in person across the Rapid City and Black Hills area or through Zoom.

Employees can ask questions.

They can learn how their benefits fit together.

They can get help with budgeting, debt, emergency savings, retirement planning, and benefits decisions.

Sessions are led by an AFC®, Accredited Financial Counselor.

FundWise is also completely product-agnostic. We do not sell investments or insurance. The goal is education and action, not a product pitch.

Step 5: Measure participation and understanding

Do not measure success only by whether an email was sent.

Track practical signals:

  • How many employees attended?
  • How many asked questions?
  • Do employees understand the match formula?
  • Do they know how to self-certify student loan payments?
  • Do they know how to access the PLESA?
  • Which topics need follow-up?

Good workplace financial wellness should create clearer decisions, not more paperwork.

Built for small businesses

Large companies may have benefits teams, internal educators, and dedicated HR technology budgets.

Small businesses usually do not.

That is why FundWise uses a simple flat-fee model for businesses with 5 to 100 employees.

There are no per-seat costs.

You can choose group education through quarterly or bi-monthly sessions. Individual financial coaching is also available for employees who need more personal support.

The setup is designed to be low-friction.

No six-week implementation.

No complicated software rollout.

No pressure to buy investments or insurance.

Start with the 90-Day Pilot

Not ready to commit to an ongoing program?

The 90-Day Employee Financial Wellness Pilot gives your business a practical way to test the fit.

The pilot includes:

  • An employer kickoff call
  • An anonymous employee money-stress survey
  • One live group financial wellness workshop
  • An HR summary report
  • A renewal recommendation

The workshop can be delivered in person or virtually.

The report does not include private employee financial information. It summarizes participation, general themes, education needs, and recommended next steps.

You can review the 90-Day Pilot and decide whether it makes sense for your team.

The bottom line

SECURE 2.0 gave employers new ways to support employees facing two common problems:

  • Student debt
  • No emergency savings

The student loan match can help employees keep building retirement savings while paying qualified education loans.

The PLESA can help employees build a short-term financial cushion.

But neither benefit works if employees do not understand it.

The deadline to formally amend most calendar-year, non-collectively bargained plans is December 31, 2026.

Start with your plan administrator.

Then start the conversation with your employees.

If you are in Rapid City, Spearfish, Box Elder, or the surrounding Black Hills area, talk with FundWise. No pressure. No pitch decks. Just a straightforward conversation about whether live financial education could help your team.