The cost of everything is climbing. One expense that has been on the rise for many years is the cost of higher education. When our daughter came into our lives, we immediately started saving for her higher education, choosing to use the MET (Michigan Education Trust) program that allows one to buy credits at today’s price and use them later. We hope that by investing in this now, we might avoid debt later.
Normally, we try to use the For Your Benefit newsletter to cover more than one topic, but this month it’s all about Compass, the new pension coming in 2026. In particular, I want to highlight in this article the student loan debt provision of the new pension. The Secure 2.0 Act put into place the ability for employees to show they were paying student debt, allowing employers to contribute a matching amount to their pension on their behalf while the employee is still paying off the debt.
Wespath has been excitedly sharing information about this provision, including in this video. Undoubtedly, this provision will be helpful to our clergy who are paying off higher education debt. What’s more exciting is that the provision technically applies to loans that a person has taken out in their name for a spouse or dependent. To be clear, this doesn’t mean you can pay your child’s student loan and claim that. However, if you took out a loan of your own as part of your child’s education to cover some of their schooling expenses, you can claim that.
The bottom line is that if you are paying a student loan for yourself, your spouse, or your dependent, and the loan is in your name, you can receive this credit in Compass! That’s big news.
As I save for my daughter’s future education, I’m trying to avoid having to take out a loan. However, it’s good to know that, ultimately, if I need to borrow for her education, Wespath will be there to support me as I pay that loan back by contributing to my pension in a matching amount (up to the total 4% match available in Compass.)
Last Updated on June 5, 2025