Troy company works with larger companies to help employees pay college debt

TROY, Mich. - Do you think your employer would help you pay off your student loans? It may seem like a pipe dream for those of us with thousands of dollars in debt, but a Michigan company is hoping to help make that happen.

Americans are burdened with $1.5 trillion in student long debt. 

Edcor in Troy is working with Fortune 1000 companies to set up a system that helps pay down their employees' student loan debt. It's a way to lure talented young people who are burdened with student loans.  

CEO and owner, Adrienne Way, is proud of what they're helping companies do to help the men and women working there.  

"We're going to make payments directly to the student loan provider on behalf of the employer to the employees account. The money is not going to be going towards a new purse or some shoes. It will actually help pay down that student loan faster, which will take years off that student loan for them," Way said.

Those years could keep young employees from catching up financially. Edcor has done tuition reimbursement programs for years and in January they started with the student loan program 

"(Student loan debt) stops them from being able to make a  major life decision - maybe it's starting a family, buying a house, contributing to their 401(k) and their retirement plans. So it takes some of the burden off their back." Way said.

Right now, only eight percent of Fortune 1000 companies offer assistance with student loan debt. Edcor hopes other companies will catch on in the next two years.