Student loan debt may follow workers well beyond their younger years, with new research finding borrowers in their 40s had substantially less money accumulated in their 401(k) accounts than their peers without student loans.

Among 401(k) participants in their 40s, those with student loan debt had median account balances about 45% lower than participants without student loan debt, according to research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The retirement savings gap persisted across income and job-tenure levels. Researchers also found borrowers generally contributed a smaller share of their income to their retirement accounts.

Student debt isn't limited to younger workers. One in five 401(k) participants ages 25 to 69 carried student loan debt. About 21% of participants ages 40 to 44 had student loans, as did nearly 13% of those ages 55 to 59.

The differences can persist over time. The study found older participants with student loan debt continued to have retirement account balances about 30% lower than participants without student debt, even as the gap narrowed.

Federal law now gives employers another way to help workers save while paying their loans.

The SECURE 2.0 Act allows employers to make retirement plan matching contributions based on employees’ qualified student loan payments. That means eligible workers can receive an employer retirement contribution while paying student loans without having to make a corresponding contribution to their retirement plan.

EBRI estimated that if employers universally adopted such programs, additional 401(k) matching contributions for workers with student debt could total $11.2 billion annually with an assumed maximum match of 4% of income. That could rise to $20.2 billion with a 6% maximum match.

The research used anonymized student loan data from TransUnion combined with 401(k) plan data.