U.S. employers are taking a more active role in helping employees with their student debt, with nearly a third at least preparing to offer assistance programs, according to a new report.

Businesses have been motivated to take a role in helping workers with their mounting student debt for both altruistic and practical reasons, according to the report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

"It's a competitive job market, and employers are seeking new ways to attract, retain and satisfy qualified employees," said Lori Lucas, president and CEO of EBRI, in a statement. "At the same time, student loan debt assistance programs are new for employers, and they are still trying to figure them out."

Outstanding student loans in the U.S. total about $1.5 trillion, up from about $600 billion just 10 years ago, according to the Federal Reserve. About 30 percent of all U.S. adults have incurred at least some debt from their education, according to Fed data.

A survey of 250 employers last year found that 32.4 percent offered or were planning to offer assistance programs in areas such as student loan debt consolidation, loan refinancing and student loan repayment subsidies, according to EBRI. Among employers in this group, the most cited reason for offering help was to improve employee retention (cited by 56 percent of respondents), followed by reducing stress among employees (cited by 49 percent).

The employers who had a program or were considering one said the top challenge in offering the benefit was the complexity of the programs. Nearly half of the employers said the cost of the programs amounted to less than 50 dollars per employee.