The Section 127 Coalition Strengthen & Expand Employer-Provided Education Assistance

The Coalition to Preserve Employer Provided Education Assistance
The Coalition to Preserve Employer Provided Education Assistance
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    • The Coalition
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  • The Coalition
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Updates from Capitol Hill

Sec. 127 Coalition Lauds Senators in Reintroduction of Upskilling & Retraining Assistance Act

5/26/21: The Section 127 Coalition applauds the leadership of U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Todd Young (R-IN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Tim Scott (R-SC) for reintroduction of the Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act.  

4/20/21: SHRM Submits Statement of Support for Employer-Provided Education Assistance in Senate

During a Senate HELP Committee hearing, with the assistance of U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., SHRM submitted a statement into the Congressional record in support of employer-provided education assistance

8/4/20: Sen. Maggie Hassan: Hassan, Young Introduce Upskilling & Retraining Assistance Act

Senators Hassan, Young Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Encourage Educational & Training Opportunities for Workers Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

8/4/20: Sen. Todd Young: Young, Hassan Introduce Bipartisan Upskilling & Retraining Assistance Act

U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would expand educational assistance programs to help ensure that employers have the tools to hire and retrain workers who may have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

10/25/19: CPEPEA Lauds Leadership of Reps. Davis & Smith in Upward Mobility Enhancement Act

CPEPEA Letter Here

Rep. Scott Peters: Peters, Davis Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Address Rising Student Loan Debt

Today, U.S. Congressmen Scott Peters (CA-52) and Rodney Davis (IL-13) led a bipartisan group of 99 Members of Congress to reintroduce H.R. 1043, the Employer Participation in Repayment Act, which would incentivize employers to offer student loan assistance to help their employees pay off student loan debt.

Reps. Davis and Peters Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Address Rising Student Loan Debt

U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Scott Peters (D-CA) today led a bipartisan group of 99 Members of Congress to reintroduce the Employer Participation in Repayment Act, which would incentivize employers to offer student loan assistance to help their employees pay off student loan debt. The bill would help companies recruit and retain employees by making student loan payments by employers tax exempt up to $5,250 a year—similar to tax exemptions for tuition assistance programs.

Thune, Warner Introduce Legislation to Aid Student Debt Repayment

Legislation would allow employers to offer tax-free student loan assistance to help their employees pay off student loan debt

In Congress

Prior to the inclusion of Section 127 to the Internal Revenue Code, only specifically “job-related” educational assistance could be excluded from an employee’s gross taxable income. Section 127 allows an employee to exclude from income up to $5,250 per year in assistance for any type of educational course at the undergraduate and graduate level. Employers are not required to provide assistance under Section 127 to their employees. However, if an employer chooses to do so, the benefit must be offered to all employees on a non-discriminatory basis that does not favor the highly compensated.Section 127 was added to the tax code to reduce tax complexity and address two broad policy goals:

Reducing administrative inequalities that arise when determining what constitutes “job-related” education; and

Removing disincentives to upward mobility by promoting job advancement and self-improvement for employees.


The Current Status of Section 127

Section 127 was originally established as a five-year provision to give officials time to study it. When it first expired at the end of 1983, a series of extensions were passed. Section 127 has been extended nine times, most recently in 2001. It was set to expire at the end of 2012, but was made a permanent part of the tax code with the passage of H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Pub.L. 112–240) on January 1, 2013.Coalition efforts are now focusing on expansion of Section 127. This includes expansion of the limit of $5,250 and the inclusion of student loan repayment within the provision.


Why Is Section 127 Important?

Providing tax-free educational assistance is an important tool employers use to attract the best available employees and build a skilled workforce.

According to the National Post-secondary Student Aid Study’s most recent data on characteristics of students in post-secondary education, almost one million employees took advantage of Section 127 benefits in 2007.

Section 127 plays a critical role in maintaining US competitiveness. Almost 20 percent of Section 127 recipients are majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees. 36 percent of all Section 127 recipients are pursuing a Master’s Degree; 26 percent are pursuing an Associate’s Degree; and 18 percent are pursuing a Bachelor’s degree.

As the needs of employees continue to change, so does the spirit and efficacy of Section 127. Employees who choose to pursue additional education are finding that the limit of $5,250 is not adequate to keep up with the current cost of higher education. Likewise, individuals entering the labor market are facing startling amounts of student loan debt.  These debts many times preclude workers from contributing to personal savings and more importantly, retirement savings plans.  Employers providing a student loan repayment benefit not only help to mitigate this challenge, but they are able to recruit and retain top talent.

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