Nearly half of all working adults say paying off college loans is a very important financial goal — up 24 percent since 2014. (Photo: iStock)

Seventy percent of employers say improving their workers' financial wellness is a top benefits objective—up 15 percent since 2015.  They see that poor financial health is causing problems for the American workforce. More specifically, student loan debt is playing havoc with employees' finances, their stress level and their ability to work toward such financial goals as saving for retirement.

Initial findings from the report “College Debt in America: The Case for Tuition & Loan Repayment Benefits” from the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America indicate that seven out of 10 working Americans with college debt put their finances at the top of their stress list, compared with just four out of 10 who don't have college debt.

With the total owed in student loans more than $1.5 trillion, it may not be surprising that the report also finds that fewer working Americans feel they're progressing well in paying off their college debt or saving for their children's college education compared with two years ago.