Washington, DC – AARP has announced ‘Caregiving Leave’ and ‘Phased Retirement’ as two new benefits now available to all eligible full- and part-time staff. Both benefits reflect AARP’s overall commitment to help the nation’s 40 million family caregivers better balance their work demands and personal lives, as well as support all workers who want to continue working as long as they wish to do so.   

“Our new Caregiving Leave program will help the many AARP employees who are family caregivers, both here in the DC office and in our state offices,” said AARP Chief Human Resource Officer John Sigmon. “Having this new caregiving leave benefit, in addition to AARP’s flexible work options, general vacation leave, sick and safe leave, and individual holidays, will be a welcome relief to staff that need it. The ‘Phased Retirement’ option lets our staff keep their health care and 401(k) retirement benefits while allowing them to scale back on work as they ease into retirement if they should choose to do so.”

More specifics on the new benefits:

Caregiving Leave

AARP’s ‘Caregiving Leave’ program is intended to help employees balance their work requirements with the demands of providing caregiving to a family member. All active full- and part-time AARP employees in good standing may request up to two regularly scheduled work weeks of paid time off per calendar year to care for or assist a family member.

‘Eligible family member’ is defined as a person to whom an employee is related, including by marriage or by registered domestic partnership, or by legal custodianship. The caregiving leave benefit allows employees to provide care for a family member who has a serious health condition, or to help a family member who is at least age 50 (or a family member of any age with a disability) with personal care and daily activities such as bathing, dressing, preparing meals, health-related appointments, transportation, and managing finances.

AARP staff may take the entire two-week paid caregiving leave at one time or spread out intermittently in blocks of time.

Phased Retirement

Eligible AARP employees age 62 or older who want to gradually move into full retirement may be able to participate in the new ‘Phased Retirement’ option. The new phased retirement benefit lets older employees work a reduced work schedule of 21 hours per week (minimum) for six months or longer. Participating in the ‘Phased Retirement’ option is a formal acknowledgement that the employee intends to retire in the near future.

AARP created this new benefit to help its employees tailor their retirement needs to their individual situation. The program not only benefits employees, it also allows AARP time to plan for a smooth transition with minimal impact to work flow.

“Our new phased retirement benefit also helps AARP because it gives experienced workers time to download their invaluable expertise and knowledge that they’ve accrued before they leave us for whatever awaits them in their next chapter of life,” said Sigmon.   

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Caregiving Resources

• AARP Caregiving Resource Center www.aarp.org/caregiving
• Determining the Return on Investment: Supportive Policies for Employee Caregivers
• AARP Public Policy Report “Valuing the Invaluable: 2015 Update”
• Eldercare Primary Concerns Older Workers and Their Employers, Right? Think Again (Blog)

About AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name.  As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world’s largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @aarp and our CEO @JoAnn_Jenkins on Twitter.

CONTACT:
Greg Phillips, 202-434-2560, media@aarp.org, @AARPMedia