Your newest hires are making benefit decisions with the least information.
New graduates and early-career employees are choosing health coverage, learning what a deductible is, and often facing student loan payments, all at once. A small amount of structure in the first 90 days changes how they use the plan and whether they stay.
Three timelines every new hire should know.
Most of the confusion in the first month comes from the same three questions. Answering them in the offer letter or the first welcome email removes most of the rest.
The Waiting Period
Group health coverage must start no later than the first day after a 90-day waiting period, counted in calendar days. Many employers start sooner, such as the first of the month after hire. Tell new hires the exact date and what to do for coverage in between.
Dependent Coverage to 26
A plan that covers dependent children must offer coverage until the child turns 26, whether or not the child is married, in school, or living at home. For many new graduates this is the bridge between school and their first job.
The First Paycheck
Premium contributions come out before the first paycheck is spent, and many new hires never see the deduction coming. A one-page sheet showing gross pay, premium and take-home for the plan options prevents the most common complaint.
Many early-career hires are also starting repayment.
Federal student loan repayment options changed in 2026, and new graduates are choosing among them while learning to budget. Employers that help can use Section 127 to pay toward the loans tax-free up to the annual limit, which gives the youngest part of the workforce a reason to stay.
Know the Options
Borrowers face a smaller set of federal repayment plans than before. We publish a plain-language guide you can hand to new hires.
Consider a Contribution
A flat monthly payment toward a new hire’s loan is easy to explain and to budget, and it can begin after a short waiting period.
Pair It With Tuition Help
Employees who are still studying may value tuition help more than loan payments. The two can sit in the same written plan.
Student loan repayment benefits for employers → Repayment options for borrowers →
Plan choice is where early-career employees need the most help.
Choosing between a lower premium with a high deductible and a higher premium with a copay plan is a real decision for someone who has never used insurance on their own.
Plan-Fit Conversations
A short call with each new hire to match their expected care to a plan. People who understand why they chose a plan use it better.
Plain-Language Guides
A one-page summary of how a deductible, copay and out-of-pocket maximum work, using examples new hires recognize.
Always-On Answers
Questions come up after the enrollment window closes. A concierge and a chat tool keep them from becoming claims problems or frustrated calls to HR.
Employee benefits concierge → HSA and consumer-driven health plans →
What employers ask about early-career benefits.
Can we make new hires wait the full 90 days?
Yes, 90 days is the maximum waiting period for group health coverage under federal rules, and many employers choose a shorter one to compete for graduates. Other benefits, such as retirement or voluntary plans, follow their own rules.
Does a dependent have to live with the employee?
No. Coverage to age 26 does not depend on residency, student status or marital status, if the plan covers dependent children at all.
Is a student loan benefit worth it for a small group?
Often more than people expect, because it is a targeted benefit and the cost is the amount you set. It works best when it is tied to roles you struggle to keep. We model it before you commit.
Related guides.
Student Loan Repayment Benefits
Design, cost and tax rules for the employer.
First-Time Employee Benefits
What a first benefits package should include.
Retention Messaging
How to tell employees what their benefits are worth.
Tell us who you are hiring.
We’ll look at how your benefits read to someone starting their first career job, what the first 90 days look like, and whether a student loan or tuition benefit would help you compete. No cost, and no obligation.
The roles you hire early in a career
Your current waiting period
Whether new hires mention student debt
Any tuition help you offer today
Rough answers are fine. We build the numbers from there.
Laws and rules referenced
45 CFR 147.116 — Prohibition on waiting periods exceeding 90 days.
29 CFR 2590.715-2714 — Eligibility of children until age 26.
26 U.S.C. § 127 — Educational assistance programs, including qualified student loan payments.
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