Partners with MPC, Affordable Housing Corporation, Fannie Mae
At a time when many
companies are reducing employee benefits, Allstate Insurance Company is adding
yet another perk for its employees. In a pilot program, qualifying Allstate
employees working at the Vernon Hills service centers will receive $5,000 down
payment assistance and homeownership education to buy their first homes.
The pilot
program will be offered to
11 employees who have worked at Allstate for at least one full year, are first-time
home buyers, fall within income guidelines, and purchase within 15 miles
of the company’s Vernon Hills service center.
Allstate’s assistance will not
need to be repaid, provided the employee stays with the company for five
years.
“We are assisting employees
who currently may not have the opportunity to own a home,” said Lilly Eng,
director of Diversity Worklife, Allstate Insurance Company. “At the same time, we
are looking at this program as a business strategy to both retain and attract
valuable employees.”
The Affordable Housing
Corporation of Lake County (AHC) will administer the program and provide
homeownership education to eligible employees. The AHC will also help employees
access state matching funds of up to $5,000 provided by the Illinois Housing
Development Authority.
With an
additional $5,000 from Lake County, qualified employees can receive up to $15,000
toward a down payment.
“We commend Allstate
for joining the growing ranks of businesses recognizing the importance of
workforce housing and stepping up to help their employees access homeownership,” said
Casandra Slade, executive director of the AHC.
"Employers recognize
the benefits to their own bottom-line by boosting retention and saving on
turnover costs," said Metropolitan Planning Council housing director Robin
Snyderman. "Employer-assisted housing also improves quality of life for everyone in our
region by reducing traffic and air pollution."
The
Metropolitan
Planning Council (MPC) helped Allstate design its employer-assisted housing
initiative. MPC has worked with close to 20 employers around the region, helping link
each company with a local housing expert to implement its program. Other
participating companies include the University of Chicago and University of
Chicago Hospitals (Chicago), Bank One (Chicago region), City of Evanston, City
of St. Charles, Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago), Medela Corporation
(McHenry), National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (Chicago),
Northwest Community Hospital (Arlington Heights), Seaquist Perfect (Cary),
System Sensor (St. Charles), Village of Riverdale and others. In Lake County,
the City of North Chicago and Deerfield-based Rosenthal Brothers also offer
employer-assisted housing programs to their employees.
Employer-assisted housing initiatives are also of growing interest to local leaders. Ill. Rep. Kathy Ryg
(D-Vernon Hills) said, “I am so pleased to see more employers seizing the opportunity
to help their workers access homeownership, especially in the expensive Lake
County housing market.” Rep. Ryg is based in Vernon Hills and a member of the
Housing and Urban Development Committee. She added, “the state is really looking
for ways to encourage good public-private partnerships like this
one.”
“Because homeownership is the path to economic security,
initiatives like EAH can help stabilize neighborhoods and revitalize
communities, while at the same time helping employers attract and retain
employees,” said Terry Young, director of Fannie Mae Chicago’s Partnership Office
. “Giving employees the resources they need to become
homeowners is one of the most valuable investments a company can make."
Fannie Mae
(FNM/NYSE) is the nation’s largest source of financing for home mortgages.
Through its EAH initiative, Fannie Mae provides free technical assistance to
employers that are interested in developing EAH plans. To date, Fannie Mae has
assisted more than 500 public and private employers across the nation. Fannie
Mae's support of employers in designing EAH benefits is part of the company's $2
trillion American Dream Commitment® with a goal to help 1,000 employers
nationwide establish EAH plans by the end of the decade.
Founded in 1934,
the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of
business and civic leaders committed to serving the public interest through the
promotion and implementation of sensible planning and development policies
necessary for a world-class Chicago region. MPC conducts policy analysis,
outreach, and advocacy in partnership with public officials and community
leaders to improve equity of opportunity and quality of life throughout
metropolitan Chicago.
The Allstate
Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines
insurer. Widely known through the “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®”
slogan, Allstate provides insurance products to more than 16 million households
and has approximately 12,300 exclusive agents and financial specialists in the
U.S. and Canada. Customers can access Allstate products and services
through Allstate agents, or in select states at allstate.com and 1-800
Allstate®. EncompassSM and Deerbrook® Insurance brand property and casualty
products are sold exclusively through independent agents. Allstate
Financial Group includes the businesses that provide life and supplemental
insurance, retirement, banking and investment products through distribution
channels that include Allstate agents, independent agents, financial
institutions and broker-dealers.