CommonBond for Business™ Partners with Empower Retirement to Bring Enterprise Student Loan Solutions to Nine Million Employees Nationwide

NEW YORK, April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CommonBond for Business™ – the enterprise division of CommonBond, a leading financial technology company – has partnered with Empower Retirement, the nation's second-largest retirement services provider, to offer student loan benefits to Empower's nine million plan participants through approximately 39,000 retirement plans.

The partnership aims to provide Empower plan participants new resources to manage their student debt. Plan participants are eligible for three CommonBond for Business solutions:

• Evaluation™: This support tool helps employees make financial decisions by providing specific recommendations to pay off their student debt or save for higher education, including loan forgiveness programs and 529 options.
• Refinancing: Employees can trade in their student loans for a single loan with better rates and terms.
• Flex contribution™: Companies can contribute directly toward employees' student loan payments each month, or offer tax-advantaged 401(k) matching contributions, when employees pay back student debt.

These solutions will be available to all Empower retirement plans, in addition to Individual Retirement Account customers.

"Student loan debt is one of the key financial barriers to achieving other financial goals – half of American workers with student debt say the top item they sacrifice is saving for retirement," said David Klein, CommonBond CEO and co-founder. "Through our work with Empower, millions of people now have the ability to receive student loan benefits from their employers, improving their financial wellness and helping them save toward a brighter financial future."

"There's no better investment than taking advantage of educational opportunities for yourself or your loved ones," said Edmund F. Murphy, Empower Retirement President and CEO. "And paying for that investment should not have to come at the expense of other financial goals. We're proud to partner with CommonBond to enable employers and plan advisors to help individuals take action to achieve better financial security through smarter debt management."

Since CommonBond launched nationally in 2013, the company has become the market leader for solutions that help students and graduates prepare and pay for higher education. Beyond its enterprise platform, CommonBond offers consumers student lending and refinancing options, which are known for competitive rates, best-in-class borrower protections, flexible repayment options, and award-winning customer care.

This announcement follows significant expansion for the company. CommonBond has forged several strategic partnerships with large financial institutions in the last year to help large banks and insurance companies' customers manage, reduce, and pay down student loans through a series of innovative programs. Additionally, CommonBond recently acquired NextGenVest – now branded MoneyMentor™ – an AI-powered financial platform for Generation Z, to help students plan and pay for college.

About CommonBond
CommonBond is a financial technology company on a mission to give students and graduates more affordable, transparent, and simple ways to pay for higher education. The company offers refinance loans to college graduates, new loans to current students, and a suite of student loan repayment benefits to employees through its CommonBond for Business™ program. By designing a better student loan experience that combines advanced technology with competitive rates and award-winning customer service, CommonBond has funded over $2.5 billion in loans, partnered with over 300 corporate clients, and currently serves over 100,000 members. CommonBond is also the first and only finance company with a "one-for-one" social mission: for every loan it funds, CommonBond also funds the education of a child in need, through its partnership with Pencils of Promise. For more information, visit www.commonbond.co.

SOURCE CommonBond

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