AI-driven platform transforms student debt into retirement wealth through the market’s first SECURE 2.0 student loan retirement match implementation and launch of Onward debt management solution

Candidly, the market's only AI-driven student debt and savings optimization platform, today announced milestone achievements in its 2024 Annual Impact Report, including $1.8 billion in projected student debt impact and over 200,000 years saved off of student debt repayment. Other achievements reached by the company in 2024 include being named to the Fast Company Most Innovative Companies list in the category of personal finance and launching two new products for the workplace benefit and retirement industries: a SECURE Act 2.0-enabled Student Loan Retirement Match solution and Onward, an API-first comprehensive debt management solution.

Candidly's Student Loan Retirement Match program, operationalizing the section of SECURE Act 2.0 that enables employers to match employees’ student loan payments with retirement contributions, has demonstrated remarkable success in helping employees build for their futures while managing and paying down student debt. Key outcomes realized through this solution on Candidly’s platform include:

• 13.5% increase in first-time retirement plan participation
• 27% increase in employees maximizing their employer’s match offering
• Average annual retirement contributions of $3,300 per participant
• Projected additional retirement savings of $48,800 per participant by the time of retirement
• 58% reduction in likelihood of turnover among participating employees

The program's success has driven rapid adoption, with Candidly's SECURE 2.0 implementations tripling between 2023 and 2024. Early 2025 momentum shows even stronger growth, with more employers implementing the Student Loan Retirement Match solution in January 2025 than in all of 2024, and a 121% CAGR in median employee adoption across large, mega, and jumbo-sized employers.

Candidly further expanded its impact beyond student loan debt in 2024 with the launch of Onward. This new solution leverages AI to offer customized strategies for optimizing savings across all consumer debt categories. Initially available as a B2B2C API-based solution for financial and retirement industry partners, Onward will launch its user-facing interface later this year.

In addition to these latest innovations, Candidly’s core solutions, which enable users to repay student debt and plan and pay for college, delivered significant impact in 2024:

• The company's Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) solution saw record engagement, with 46% of all-time applications submitted in 2024 alone, projecting an average forgiveness of $50,788 per user, and realizing a three-fold increase in employee enrollment in PSLF among employers who offer Candidly’s digitized solution for the federal program.
• Users who leveraged the Core platform to qualify for an income-driven repayment plan experienced an average $347 per-month reduction on their student loan bills.
• Employer-sponsored student loan contributions facilitated by Candidly led to a projected average of $5,000 in savings on interest per user, and a four-and-a-half-year reduction in repayment time.
• The newly launched Tuition Reimbursement solution prevented over $1.1 million in potential student debt, with users receiving an average reimbursement of $3,434.
• Notably, all of Candidly's solutions strongly impacted employee retention, with participation reducing turnover likelihood by 33-58% across different programs.

"2024 marked a transformation in how we approach student debt, turning it from a barrier into a bridge to financial security, in partnership with employers committed to employee financial health and wellness,” said Laurel Taylor, CEO and Co-Founder of Candidly. “The data is compelling: 30% of our employer pipeline now recognizes that student debt forces their workers to miss out on one of their most valuable wealth creating benefits: the retirement match. And while student debt continues to pose unprecedented complexity and confusion for millions of Americans, we're honored to serve as the calm amidst this ongoing crisis by providing clarity and guidance through our innovative, AI-enabled solutions. The only way to pace with and present personalized guidance through the daily twists and turns on student debt is through the application of technology, in a modern, mobile-first experience.”

The 2024 Candidly Impact Report is available today.

About Candidly

Candidly is an AI-driven student debt and savings optimization platform that addresses the full lifecycle of education expenses and empowers people to make simultaneous progress on paying down student debt and building wealth. Candidly partners with leading employers and financial services companies serving the workplace like 401(k) and 403(b) recordkeepers, retirement plan advisors, and more, creating a holistic and inclusive workplace benefit and embedded finance solution.

Candidly is backed by leading venture capital and strategic investors including Altos Ventures, Breton Capital, Cercano Management, Rethink Impact, Salesforce Ventures, and several additional notable investors. For more information, visit www.getcandidly.com.

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