Top employers for the 40-plus

Where is the best place to work if you’re over 40? The team behind Canada’s Top 100 Employers project have put together a list using criteria that includes access to pensions and benefits.

“This year’s winners represent some of the best employers in their fields,” says Richard Yerema of the Canada’s Top 100 Employers project. “They offer employees, and prospective employees, the typeof  benefits many are seeking as they decide where best to apply their skills and experience in progressing through their careers.”

Editors used eight criteria to evaluate winning employers, in terms of whether they do the following:

  1. offer interesting programs to assist older workers;
  2. actively recruit new workers 40 years and older;
  3. take into account the unique concerns of older workers in HR policies, such as recognizing prior work experience in determining vacation;
  4. offer a pension plan with reasonable employer contributions;
  5. assist older employees with retirement and succession planning;
  6. create opportunities for retirees to stay socially connected through organized social activities and volunteering;
  7. extend health coverage and similar benefits after retirement; and
  8. offer programs, such as mentorship and phased-in retirement, to ease the emotional challenge of retirement and ensure skills are transferred to the next generation.

“The winning employers recognize that they can attract and develop younger employees by offering benefits that look after employees’ needs in the second half of their careers,” says Kristina Leung, who works on the Top Employers project. “It’s like being a good parent, where you instill in younger family members the need to treat older generations with respect and dignity—they realize pretty quickly it’s also how they will be treated someday.”

Following are the winners (in alphabetical order) for 2013:

  • Agriculture Financial Services Corp. / AFSC
  • BDC / Business Development Bank of Canada
  • BMO Financial Group
  • Bombardier Inc.
  • Cameco Corp.
  • Canadian Security Intelligence Service
  • CIBC
  • Dalhousie University
  • EllisDon Corp.
  • Enbridge Inc.
  • HP Advanced Solutions Inc.
  • Manitoba Hydro
  • SaskTel
  • Union Gas Ltd.
  • University of Toronto

To see detailed reasons for selection, visit the competition.