Rebecca Gale dives into why student loan repayment, while an attractive benefit on the Hill, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be sometimes.

Not every enrolled staffer would be able to hit the $833 monthly maximum ($10,000 annually). The amount varies widely: Some offices give employees a set amount, others used a sliding scale commensurate with income or tenure. Two former staffers who worked for the same senator received widely varying amounts, for instance. One received $100 a month, the other $500.

Read more about how the system works and its limitations over at Roll Call.

Photo via Roll Call