University of Southern California

This employer’s Emeriti Center supports retirees and pre-retirees

from: AARP, September 2011

Winning Years: 2011
Industry: Education: Post-secondary
Location: Los Angeles
Website: www.usc.edu

The University of Southern California (USC) Emeriti Center is dedicated to supporting USC retirees and pre-retirees in living healthy and purposeful lives by providing opportunities for continued service and learning. The center offers email and newsletter communications, enrichment courses, a speaker’s bureau, extensive online retirement planning materials, educational sessions and workshops on retirement planning, socials, and two formal retirement luncheons each year with awards and gifts. In addition, its Trojan ENCORE program brings retirees back to campus for short-term and part-time volunteer and paid positions.

About Best Employers

Additional Policies and Practices:

Workplace Culture / Continued Opportunities: Full- and part-time employees are offered certification classes, in-house classroom training and online training. Employees working 32 or more hours per week are also offered a tuition benefit.

Long-service anniversaries are celebrated with announcements, parties, awards and gifts.

USC redesigned the Layoffs and Reorganizations Policy to provide better benefits for employees leaving the university.

Employees have opportunities to gain new experiences by working on temporary assignments in other departments, on team projects and through formal job rotation programs.

USC provides accommodations for employees with unique needs by redesigning workstations for wheelchair accessibility, providing telecommuting options giving employees the option to work from home, and providing larger computer screens and better lighting for employees with visual impairment. The Transitional Work Program offers employees temporary alternative jobs to accommodate restrictions they have.

Benefits/Health: Employees working 19 or more hours per week receive individual and family medical and prescription drug coverage, individual and family vision and dental insurance, individual and family long-term care insurance, as well as short- and long-term disability. Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are available to assist in covering out-of-pocket health care costs.