New benefits plan that can boost retention

Trying to retain top talent? Helping their families can go a long way.

That’s what Jeff Stibel, chief executive for Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. is banking on with the company’s dual matching 529 tuition savings program.

The California-based firm’s plan isn’t a typical match program. There are a lot of benefits for the employees and their families. The firm will:

• match employees’ savings, doubling their value up to $1,000 a year for hourly workers and $2,500 for salaried employees
• compensate workers for the tax they pay on the income that’s contributed to the 529 plan, and
• make a second match in the form of a dollar-for-dollar gift, in the amount of employees’ contributions, to public school systems in the six cities Dun & Bradstreet operates in.

Stibel said workers should treat their children’s college tuition more importantly than children’s retirement. DBCC calls the program “EdAhead” and the plan is administered through Putnam Investments. This is the first matching program of its kind since federal rules promoting such programs were enacted last year.

What do you think about this type of program for employees? Do you think programs like this can help with employee retention? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.