Highway Benefits

What Highway Benefits does

Highway Benefits is a cloud-based employee benefits platform that enables US employers to offer tax-advantaged educational assistance benefits under Section 127 of the IRS code. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California (with Terms of Service governed by Delaware law), the company focuses on four benefit product lines: student loan repayments (tax-free employer contributions directly to employee loan accounts), tuition reimbursement, Student Loan 401(k) Match under Secure Act 2.0 provisions, and 529 plan support. The platform automates plan creation, eligibility verification, payment processing, and IRS compliance, with employers able to launch a benefit plan in as little as two weeks via a single onboarding call.

The underlying technology is a turnkey SaaS platform with native integration to HR systems such as Rippling, enabling automated data exchange for employer contributions. The platform supports employer contribution amounts ranging from $25 to $437.50 per month per employee, capped at the $5,250 annual Section 127 tax-free limit. Supporting tools include a benefit cost calculator, loan payoff calculator, adoption rate calculator, and a free Section 127 plan creator. The company has achieved SOC 2 Type II compliance, positioning it for enterprise and security-conscious mid-market buyers.

Highway Benefits operates a sales-led go-to-market motion targeting HR and benefits professionals at companies of all sizes, supplemented by a broker/partner channel in which benefits brokers resell the platform to employer clients. Revenue is generated through recurring platform subscription/management fees on a per-employer basis. The company has raised approximately $6.2 million across three funding rounds (2021, 2022, and a $3.1 million seed in March 2023 led by XYZ Venture Capital with angel participation from Roger Ferguson Jr.) and operates with a small team of 1-10 employees. Its named customer base of approximately 11 logos spans technology, healthcare, general services, and nonprofit verticals, skewing toward small and mid-sized employers.

Name

Highway Benefits

Legal name

Highway Benefits

Website

https://highwaybenefits.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Highway Benefits is a cloud-based employee benefits platform that enables US employers to offer tax-free Section 127 educational assistance benefits—including student loan repayments, tuition reimbursement, 401(k) student loan matching, and 529 plan support—primarily serving HR and benefits professionals at small and mid-sized companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Benefits Administration Software

NAICS

Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251), Health and Welfare Funds (525120)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Benefits Administration (BPACAPAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent) (FSAKAEAM), Benefits Administration & Enrollment Support (BPAAAIAB)

Keywords

• Student loan repayment benefits
• Tuition reimbursement administration
• Section 127 educational assistance
• 401(k) student loan matching
• Employer benefits platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Manhattan Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Platform Subscription/Management Fees: Highway Benefits charges employers a platform fee to administer their student loan repayment and tuition assistance benefit programs. The company handles plan creation, eligibility verification, payment facilitation, and compliance management on behalf of employer clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Highway Benefits is a cloud-based employee benefits platform that enables US employers to administer tax-free educational assistance programs under IRS Section 127. Its core products are employer-funded student loan repayments, tuition reimbursement, student loan 401(k) matching under Secure Act 2.0, and 529 plan contributions. The platform automates eligibility verification, payment processing, compliance management, and direct deposits to employees' student loan accounts.

Product overview

Highway Benefits is an employee benefits platform that helps employers offer tax-free educational assistance benefits, specifically focused on student loan repayment programs. The platform operates as a unified system with four core benefit products: Student Loan Repayments (direct employer contributions to employee student loans), Tuition Reimbursement (for continuing education), Student Loan 401(k) Match (matching student loan payments to retirement accounts under Secure Act 2.0), and 529 Plan Support (for education savings). These products are managed through the Highway platform and supported by calculators and plan creation tools. All benefits operate under Section 127 of the IRS code, allowing up to $5,250 annually in tax-free contributions per employee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student Loan Repayments A tax-free employer student loan repayment benefit that allows US employers to make monthly contributions (as little as $25 up to $437.50) directly to employees' student loan accounts, helping reduce employee debt faster and supporting talent attraction and retention.
• Tuition Reimbursement A tax-free employer tuition assistance and reimbursement benefit that lets employers reimburse employees for continuing education expenses, integrated into the Highway platform for administration.
• Student Loan 401(k) Match A retirement benefit feature that lets employers match employees' qualified student loan payments as contributions to their 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE IRA, or 457(b) retirement plans under Secure Act 2.0, administered through the Highway platform.
• 529 Plan Support A benefit that enables employers to make direct contributions to employees' 529 education savings accounts to support future education planning, administered through the Highway platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• 86% of employees would commit for 5 years if employers helped pay back their student loans
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• RipplingcoreTechnology or IntegrationHighway Benefits has integrated with Rippling's HR platform to facilitate employer contributions towards employee student loans. This integration allows seamless data exchange between HR systems and Highway's benefit administration platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Candidly: Candidly provides student debt and financial wellness benefits to employers, with comparable SLR administration and employee education tools, positioning it as a direct competitor in the same buyer segment.
• Goodly: Goodly is a direct competitor providing employer student loan repayment benefits as a turnkey platform, competing head-to-head with Highway for the same HR buyer and broker channel.
• Tuition.io: Tuition.io is a direct competitor in the employer-sponsored student loan repayment and tuition reimbursement benefits space, offering a cloud platform very similar to Highway's Section 127 administration model.
• FutureFuel.io (gradFin): FutureFuel.io (which merged with gradFin) offers employer student loan repayment and student debt benefits administration, directly overlapping Highway's SLR and 401(k) student loan match products.

Broad incumbents

• Rippling: Rippling is a broad HRIS/benefits platform and a current Highway integration partner; it has the scale to add native SLR administration and would represent a bundling threat if it chose to compete in this category.
• ADP: ADP is a large incumbent HR, payroll, and benefits provider serving the same enterprise HR buyer as Highway, with potential to absorb SLR administration into its benefits administration suite.
• Gusto: Gusto is a broad HR, payroll, and benefits platform that could natively bundle SLR or tuition reimbursement benefits, competing for the same HR buyer with a much larger product portfolio.

Emerging players

• Vestwell: Vestwell is a 529 plan and retirement savings platform for employers; it overlaps with Highway's 529 and retirement match modules and targets a similar buyer segment.
• Edly: Edly operates an income share agreement (ISA) and student lending platform used by employers and institutions, making it a tangentially adjacent player in employer-funded education benefits.
• Savi: Savi focuses on student loan forgiveness and repayment support for employers and borrowers, overlapping with Highway's employee-facing value proposition around student debt navigation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/highwaybenefits
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highway-benefits

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highway Benefits