• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Securian Ranks High on AARP's 2008 'Best Employers' List

Posted on: Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 06:00 CDT

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexible employment practices that make it easier for older employees to make the transition into retirement boosted Securian Financial Group, Inc. into the top ten on the AARP's 2008 list of "Best Employers for Workers Over 50."

Securian, the only Minnesota company among the 50 who were honored, ranked sixth on the list.

"We want to make it easy for our good people to stay with us, regardless of age," said Kathy Pinkett, vice president, Human Resources Planning. "We've built flexibility into our employment policies to avoid forcing our associates to choose between their families and their jobs and instead enable them to find work-life balance."

Pinkett says Securian avoids creating employment policies that apply to specific age groups, but she points out several Securian policies that are useful to older workers:

-- Securian provides six months of job protection for associates who are unable to work due to their own illness or the illness of a family member. Most companies protect the job only as long as the Family and Medical Leave Act requires, which is 12 weeks. -- Financial planning assistance from professional advisors. -- Flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, discounts to health clubs, weight loss counseling, and stress management training are among the wellness programs Securian offers all employees.

In addition, employees who retire directly from Securian after working a minimum number of years are eligible for health insurance benefits as retirees. This is an area where the AARP gave Securian very strong scores. Though the actual scores are not revealed, Securian was rated "well above average" in terms of benefits for workers over 50 and retirees.

Securian scored very high in the category "opportunities for retirees." The company sponsors North Star 25, a unique social club for retirees and people who have worked at the company 25 years or more. The company sponsors annual banquets for members, which provides former coworkers an opportunity to reconnect.

Securian rated well above average in comparison to all applicants for the AARP "Best Employer" designation, other applicants from the financial services industry, and other applicants of comparable size.

Pinkett says Securian likes to keep good workers as long as possible.

"Because we are a financial services company and our products are intangible, our people truly are our product," said Pinkett. "As they gain knowledge of our culture, products, and industry, our employees become more important to our business every year they stay with us."

This is Securian's fourth appearance on the AARP list. The company also has been named 13 times to Computerworld's list of "100 Best Places to Work in IT" and seven times to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal's list of "Best Places to Work in the Twin Cities."

Securian Financial Group helps provide financial security for individuals and businesses in the form of insurance, retirement plans and investments. Affiliates include Minnesota Life Insurance Co., Advantus Capital Management, and Allied Solutions, LLC. Securian has $690 billion of life insurance in force, $30 billion in assets under management as of July 31, 2008, and a work force of 3,400 employees nationwide. Securian serves more than 9,000,000 individuals in the U.S.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole.

Additional URLS: http://www.securian.com/ http://www.securian.com/Careers/careers.asp http://www.aarp.org/

Securian Financial Group

CONTACT: Maggie Jensen, APR of Securian Financial Group,+1-651-665-7558

Web site: http://www.securian.com/http://www.aarp.org/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category