What's your employer doing for the 'second half' of your career? This year's 'Top Employers for Canadians Over 40' are announced

TORONTO, Nov. 15, 2017 /CNW/ - Like many developed countries, Canada has an ageing workforce with increasing numbers of people working later in their careers.  Part of the reason is because of gains in life-expectancy, with people living much longer, but part of the reason is also economic: most Canadians need to work later in life to fund a longer retirement.  Government policy makers are keenly aware of these changes and the far-reaching effects they will have on Canadian society, but there's almost no attention paid to what employers are doing to respond to these changes.  To see how the leading organizations are responding, look no further than the 2018 winners of the Top Employers for Canadians Over 40 competition, announced this morning by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers.

"Top employers value the experience and deep knowledge of individuals who have been engaged in the labour market for longer," says Richard Yerema, Managing Editor of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project at Mediacorp Canada Inc., which manages the competition. "They recognize the accumulated skills that these employees bring to the job, so they provide long-term support, security and stability."

Now in its 17^th year, Canada's Top Employers for Canadians Over 40 is one of the longest-running competitions within the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. This special designation recognizes employers that lead the nation in creating special programs and benefits of interest to employees aged 40 years and older.

The competition reviews a wide range of practices at employers including: active recruitment programs for employees over 40; a broad range of health, financial and family-friendly benefits including long-term savings, health benefits for retirees and support programs such as succession planning and phased-in work options; and opportunities for retirees to stay socially connected with colleagues after they stop working.

Here are a few examples that the editors singled out of how this year's winners help older employees:

• Besides helping employees save for retirement, Hamilton, Ontario-based ArcelorMittal Dofasco also offers phased-in work options for those nearing retirement and access to a state-of-the-art recreation and learning centre once they make the transition;
  
  
• TD Bank Group considers previous work experience when setting vacation entitlements and offers long-serving employees an additional week of paid vacation on their 25^th anniversary, as well as every fifth anniversary thereafter;
  
  
• Victoria, BC-based ESIT Advanced Solutions offers peace-of-mind for employees planning for life after work through contributions to a defined benefit pension plan and retirement planning assistance.

Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 18 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach over 13 million Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners, including The Globe and Mail.  Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, the largest Canadian job search engine, which includes editorial reviews from the Canada's Top 100 Employers project.  Together with Willis Towers Watson, Mediacorp hosts Canada's largest conference for senior-level HR professionals, the Top Employer Summit. This year's conference takes place April 4-5, 2018 in Toronto.

More stories on the initiatives at this year's winners can be found on the competition homepage. The complete list of winners is shown below.

Top Employers for Canadians Over 40
2018 Winners

ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P. (Hamilton ON)

Canada Revenue Agency / CRA (Ottawa ON)

CIBC (Toronto ON)

Desjardins Group / Mouvement des caisses Desjardins (Lévis QC)

Enbridge Inc. (Calgary AB)

ESIT Advanced Solutions Inc. (Victoria BC)

National Energy Board (Calgary AB)

TD Bank Group (Toronto ON)

University of Toronto (Toronto ON)

Yukon, Government of (Whitehorse YT)

SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.

Kristina Leung, Senior Editor, at 416-964-6069 x1464