As crushing student debt keeps young people from saving, some employers step up to ease the squeeze

At 26, Rariety Monford worries far less about saving for retirement than paying down $60,000 in student loan debt. So her employer has decided to do the saving for her.

Abbott Laboratories Tuesday announced a perk designed to ease the financial squeeze facing employees like Monford who are burdened with heavy student debt that causes them to forgo critical years of saving.

The medical-device maker said that U.S. employees who contribute at least 2 percent their salaries to paying off student loans will get a 5 percent 401(k) match from Abbott. That's the same percentage given to employees who contribute 2 percent to their 401(k)s. The new benefit will allow employees to accumulate savings in their retirement accounts without committing any of their own money.

Helping employees pay student debt has become an increasingly popular, though still rare, benefit employers are using to attract and retain young