WASHINGTON – A major employer in the Washington area tops the list of “Best Employers for Workers over 50.”
The Bethesda-based National Institutes of Health landed the No. 1 spot on the list. Part of the reason the government agency ranks so highly is due to its effort to recruit and maintain mature workers, reports MarketWatch.com.
Forty-seven percent of NIH’s workforce is over the age of 50.
The annual list is compiled by the American Association of Retired Persons and the Society for Human Resource Management using a specific selection process.
To make the list, winning employers provided their workers extras like telecommuting and flexible work schedules, phased retirement programs, free healthcare benefits and eldercare services.
NIH offers employees emergency day care for their children, grandchildren and parents. It also offers workers financial planning seminars, and the ability to work compressed schedules and other flexible work options.
AARP says this year 88 percent of the winners actively reach out to recruit retirees for full-time work, as compared with the 78 percent that did so in 2011.
For the 2013 list, 130 companies applied. The contest is open to any U.S. company with 50 or more employees. Four Washington-area employers are listed in the top 15.
The Top 15 best employers for workers over 50:
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Md.
- Scripps Health, San Diego
- Atlantic Health System, Morristown, N.J.
- University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
- Mercy Health System, Janesville, Wis.
- YMCA of Greater Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.
- West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va.
- Bon Secours Virginia, Richmond, Va.
- National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, Va.
- WellStar Health System, Marietta, Ga.
- Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
- West Virginia University Hospitals, Morgantown, W.Va.
- George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.
- Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
- Monongalia General Hospital, Morgantown, W.Va.
See the full list here.
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