How Hydro Ottawa’s pre-retiree engagement strategy is supporting financial wellness, retirement readiness

The multi-pronged strategy, known as Prime Time, includes hiring new workers well ahead of planned retirements, as well as two-day pre-retirement planning sessions that are open to employees aged 40 and older along with their spouses. The sessions, held four times per year, are capped at around 40 participants to provide ample time for questions and discussion.

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“[The first day] includes things like our pension plan and funeral pre-planning, investments, wills and estates and benefit considerations,” says Sue Taylor, Hydro Ottawa’s manager of employee experience (pictured right). “The second day is really about the life planning components, such as getting yourself psychologically ready to retire — for many of our employees who are very long tenured, this has been their life for eight hours a day for 35-plus years.”

The organization also continues to engage retired workers via its retiree resource network, allowing them to temporarily return to work on an as-needed basis, says Burnett Vachon. “[This program] has been quite popular and we do leverage it [in conjunction] with our apprenticeship programs — the instructors in the apprenticeship programs tend to be retired tradespeople. In other cases, we’ve hired some of our retired tradespeople to come back as mentors to help bring apprentices along a little more quickly.”

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In 2012, Hydro Ottawa established a retiree association that currently counts 260 members and is managed by retired employee Ken Lewis (pictured centre), who also acts as a champion for the company’s retirement initiatives. The organization also maintains an alumni space at its headquarters that allows the association to meet in person. “The association is quite active,” says Burnett Vachon. “They have breakfast, they have golf days and they stay quite connected to the organization.”

A winning strategy

As more employers realize the impact of retirement readiness on employee productivity and financial and mental well-being, retiree mentorship programs are a win-win, says Gianna Ricciardi, partner and founder of Vita Assure Inc.

“I think they’re realizing that it’s not enough to just have a pension plan or have an employer [contribution] match; retirement planning requires employees to be more involved. Employers have done a lot of work over the years to introduce tools, planners and education sessions, but employee participation can sometimes be low. A retirement mentorship program is much different than having a conversation with a financial planner. . . . I think it can paint a more colourful [and] more practical image of what retirement can look like and, most importantly, I think it could motivate individuals to take charge [of their financial future].”

Read: Just 25% of employers offering semi-retirement arrangements: survey

Indeed, one of the recurring questions pre-retirees ask during Hydro Ottawa’s retirement planning sessions is what their post-employment life will look like, says Burnett Vachon. “Members of our retiree association talk to employees [during the sessions] about what it’s like to be retired, what types of things they’re doing, how your life changes and how to prepare for that. Some of the feedback that we got from people is that retirement was a bit more shocking than they’d anticipated.”

These programs can also benefit retirees, says Ricciardi, noting today’s concept of retirement is much different than it was for previous generations. A February 2023 survey by Express Services Inc. found just a quarter (25 per cent) of Canadian employers offered semi-retirement arrangements. However, among companies that offered semi-retirement, a third (33 per cent) said they’ve experienced an increase in the number of employees choosing the arrangement over the past two years.

“I think it’s a win for the retiree as well because they want to feel that they’re contributing and that they’re still maybe tied to the workforce in some way.”

Looking ahead

Since the launch of Prime Time, more than 50 retired Hydro Ottawa employees have returned to temporarily work with the company in some capacity, says Burnett Vachon, noting the program has generated increased conversations among pre-retirees about retirement planning.

Read: Survey finds 34% of U.S. employees aged 50 and older phasing into retirement

“People are starting to think about [retirement] a lot sooner than they did in the past. I think inviting spouses to participate [in retirement planning sessions] has been really important as well. Typically, most employees bring their spouses to the sessions to have a second set of ears on the technical details around their pension, but I think it also helps to encourage employees to build their [post-retirement] social network early.”

For employers that are considering a similar program, she highlights that employee engagement was a crucial component in the development of Prime Time. “What worked well for us was engaging people in the process — we wanted to know what was needed in such a program. As we looked at the data, we knew we’d have to take a 10-year view and I think that gave us the momentum internally to drive this.

“It’s also important to find that champion — someone who has relationships with the employees, with the retirees and who really has the desire to keep this program moving and comes back with new ideas.”

Blake Wolfe is the managing editor of Benefits Canada and the Canadian Investment Review.