Winnebago County launches Savvy portal for employees to manage student loans; county pays $70 per enrolled employee

Winnebago County briefed supervisors April 16 on a new employee benefit: the county launched Savvy, an online student‑loan assistance platform, on March 17 to help employees navigate federal programs and repayment options.

An HR presenter (S7) said Savvy helps employees upload loan documents, identify eligible federal relief or repayment programs (including Public Service Loan Forgiveness, PSLF), and complete required paperwork. Early enrollment metrics from the county: 54 registered users with roughly $1.2 million in student‑loan balances in the Savvy system.

S7 said the county pays an enrollment fee — currently about $70 per enrolled employee per year for premium services that include application assistance and annual re‑verification — and projected hypothetical costs for wider participation. "If we had 300 employees sign up, our cost is $21,000 a year," S7 said, while noting the portal saves staff time and can leverage federal programs rather than creating a county‑run tuition reimbursement program.

Savvy’s representatives told the county the portal increases successful application completion for some federal programs: S7 said Savvy estimates moving a low base acceptance/completion rate (roughly 2.3%) up toward near‑universal completion in many cases. The county will track enrollment, acceptance rates and employee outcomes before expanding or changing the arrangement.

Supervisors discussed marketing and awareness to increase uptake and noted the county’s status as a qualifying public employer under PSLF can provide value to employees. No formal changes to benefits were adopted at the April meeting; staff will continue to promote the portal and report enrollment and results.