One consistent concern plaguing recent graduates and early and mid-career professionals is earning enough money to live comfortably while paying back their sometimes crushing student loans. The good news is that it is likely many local government employees qualify for the student debt forgiveness programs that have been making headlines recently.

The Mission Square Research Institute reported that nearly half of state and local government employees said they were extremely or very worried about paying back their student loans.

To help ICMA members navigate the various loan forgiveness programs, ICMA has partnered with Savi, an organization that offers a technology platform that can uncover opportunities to erase or reduce student loan payments.

Savi is a social impact technology startup in Washington, D.C., working to solve the student debt crisis affecting 46 million borrowers by helping them discover new repayment and loan forgiveness options. Founded by long-time student loan experts and advocates, Savi is a public benefit corporation that works with employers, membership organizations, and financial institutions to help uncover opportunities to erase or reduce student loan payments.

Savi has identified more than $1 billion in projected loan forgiveness and borrowers working with Savi can reduce monthly student loan payments by an average of $187/month. Savi is offering three levels of service to choose from, including a no-cost option and more comprehensive options at a discount to ICMA members.

In addition, staff of ICMA members are also able to take advantage of this benefit. “We are very excited to partner with ICMA and the amazing network of towns, cities, and counties that they represent. Student loan forgiveness can be a powerful tool for recruitment and retention and can help to keep talented people in the public sector. Savi offers a unique benefit and technology platform that makes it incredibly easy for employees to apply for loan forgiveness and for HR officials to digitally manage the paperwork and track the impact of the program. Public servants deserve strong benefits, and by supporting student loan forgiveness for employees we can truly help to change lives.” said Aaron Smith, cofounder of Savi.