AARP Selects Lincoln Financial Group and Brethren Village as One of Its Best Employers for Workers Over 50

9/23/2003

From: Nancy Thompson, 202-434-2560; Angela Foreshaw, 717-237-6491; both of AARP

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 -- Twenty-five employers in 17 states made the "AARP Best Employers for Workers over 50" list for 2003. Making the list from Pennsylvania were employers Lincoln Financial Group of Philadelphia and Brethren Village, a retirement community located in Lancaster Pennsylvania.

AARP, the non-profit membership organization for people 50 and over, recognized both Lincoln Financial Group and Brethren Village, for excelling in many categories that were evaluated. The criteria includes recruitment practices (including former or retired employees), offering continuing opportunities for advancement, providing flexible work schedules, and offering benefits for current and retired employees.

The Pennsylvania honorees and the other Best Employers will be honored at a dinner in New York City on Wednesday Sept. 24. The next day, Thursday Sept. 25, AARP and Crain's New York Business will host a forum presenting the results of AARP research on workforce issues, titled "Staying Ahead of the Curve 2003: The AARP Working in Retirement Study."

"We congratulate Lincoln Financial Group and Brethren Village for their initiative in participating in AARP's search and undergoing a rigorous evaluation of their practices toward their older workers," said Shane Creamer, AARP State President.

AARP invited employers to apply for the Best Employer designation by describing their innovative practices toward 50 and over workers in an extensive questionnaire. A consulting firm, NFO WorldGroup of Atlanta, Ga, did the preliminary rating of responses. Then a panel of five outside judges - including human resource experts, academics and experts on aging workforce issues - selected the finalists.

AARP The Magazine will include feature stories on the Best Employers in its November-December issue.