Sonoco Named to AARP's List of Best Employers for Workers 50 and Over

Sonoco Named to AARP's List of Best Employers for Workers 50 and
Over
Separate Report Spotlights Best Practices by Best Employers 


HARTSVILLE, S.C., Aug. 31  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- What do a dental benefits
administrator, an office technologies and services firm, a financial services
company and an auto manufacturer have in common?  These diverse companies
recruit and retain mature workers -- they treat them right -- and rank among
the 35 employers from across the U.S. named 2004 "AARP Best Employers for
Workers 50 and Over."

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991006/SNCLOGO )

All companies were evaluated on recruitment practices, continuing opportunities
for advancement, flexible work schedules, and benefits for current and retired
employees. In South Carolina, Sonoco will receive AARP's "Best Employer"
distinction for 2004.  More than one-fourth of Sonoco's work force is over 50.
One benefit they value: affordable, quality health care coverage, provided to
all employees who work 30 hours or more a week and retirees with at least ten
years of service.

Recent projections point toward a continued jump in the percentage of mature
workers in the economy.  Fourteen percent of the workforce is aged 55 and older
now; the percent is expected to reach 19 percent by 2012.

"Older employees will play a crucial role in filling future job demands. The
creative practices today's winners have in place can serve as a model for
employers seeking a winning strategy to recruit and retain the mature
workforce," said Jane Wiley, AARP South Carolina State Director.

"Sonoco has always believed that people build businesses and that the Company's
financial success is directly linked to the quality and commitment of its
employees," said Harris E. DeLoach, Jr., president and CEO, Sonoco. "Workers
over 50 add talent, experience, expertise, maturity and institutional history
to Sonoco's talent pool and we value and reward their contributions. Sonoco is
honored to be named by the AARP as one of the country's best employers for
workers 50 and over."

Sonoco will be honored at a dinner in New York City on September 23.

AARP and BusinessWeek will co-host a forum the next day on employer best
practices. AARP is releasing "Staying Ahead of the Curve 2004: Employer Best
Practices for Mature Workers," a detailed analysis of the best practices among
winning employers over the past three years. The report includes these key
findings:

   * Attraction and retention of the right workforce is important to the
     winning companies.  A number of companies offer phased retirement
     programs.  Several allow employees to collect full retirement benefits
     while continuing to work part-time or reduced hours -- while also
     allowing full health and other benefits.

   * Some employers leverage their areas of business focus to offer programs
     to support the maturing workforce.  For instance, some hospital systems
     and health care providers offered health care services at a discount,
     as well as a range of services such as free annual check ups to all
     employees.

   * Newer programs are emerging to engage the mature worker.  Such programs
     show appreciation for longer service, recognize mature worker issues
     and/or support family care needs.



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 provided a preliminary rating of the
applicants.  Then a panel of six outside judges evaluated the applications and
their opinions, combined with the consultant's evaluations, led to final
ratings.  Additional vetting followed to determine the Best Employers.

The complete list of AARP's "2004 Best Employers for Workers 50 and Over"
includes: Adecco Employment Services (Melville, N.Y.), Beaumont Hospitals
(Southfield, Mich.), Bon Secours Richmond Health System (Richmond, Va.),
Brethren Village (Lancaster, Pa.), Centegra Health System (Woodstock, Ill.),
Deer & Company (Moline, Ill.), Delaware North Companies Inc. (Buffalo, N.Y.),
DentaQuest Ventures, Inc. (Boston, Mass.), First Horizon National Corporation
(Memphis, Tenn.), Gemini Incorporated (Cannon Falls, Minn.) Hoffman-La Roche
Inc. (Nutley, N.J.), Lee County Electric Cooperative (North Fort Myers, Fla.),
Lincoln Financial Group (Philadelphia, Pa.), Loudoun Healthcare, Inc.
(Leesburg, Va.), Minnesota Life (St. Paul, Minn.), Mitretek Systems (Falls
Church, Va.), New York University Medical Center (New York, N.Y.), North
Memorial Health Care (Robbinsdale, Minn.), Pitney Bowes, Inc. (Stamford,
Conn.), Principal Financial Group (Des Moines, Iowa), SSM Health Care (St.
Louis, Mo.), St. Mary's Medical Center (Huntington, W. Va.), Scottsdale
Healthcare (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Scripps Health (San Diego, Calif.), Smurfit-
Stone Container Corporation (Clayton, Mo.), Sonoco (Hartsville, S.C.), Stanley
Consultants, Inc. (Muscatine, Iowa), The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
(Cambridge, Mass.), The Methodist Hospital (Houston, Texas), The Vanguard Group
(Valley Forge, Pa.), Volkswagen of America, Inc. (Auburn Hills, Mich.), WELBRO
Building Corporation (Maitland, Fla.), West Virginia University Hospitals
(Morgantown, W. Va.), Westgate Resorts (Orlando, Fla.), and Zurich North
America (Schaumburg, Ill.).

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to making
life better for people age 50 and older. AARP provides information and
resources; engages in legislative, regulatory, and legal advocacy; assists
members in serving their communities; and offers a wide range of unique
benefits, special products and services for its members. These include AARP The
Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, its monthly newspaper; AARP
Segunda Juventud, our quarterly newspaper in Spanish; NRTA Live & Learn, its
quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and Web site, http://www.aarp.org/ .
AARP maintains staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

   Sonoco

   Manufacturer and provider of packaging products and services

   Hartsville, S.C.

   President and CEO: Harris E. DeLoach, Jr.



More than one-fourth of Sonoco's work force is over 50. One of the benefits
they value is affordable, quality health care coverage, provided to all
employees who work 30 hours or more a week and retirees with at least 10 years
of service.

  Other Benefits:
   * Workplace culture/continued opportunities: In addition to formal
     mentoring and career counseling, Sonoco offers development options such
     as tuition reimbursement (up to 80 percent of tuition and expenses) to
     full-time employees. It also offers its own leadership and specialized
     skills training and gives employees opportunities for cross-divisional
     assignments.

   * Benefits/Health: Employees working over 30 hours a week pay, on
     average, 20 percent of the cost for their health care and prescription
     drug coverage; 100 percent of the cost for vision coverage; and 50
     percent of the cost for dental coverage. The Company pays basic short-
     term and long-term disability premiums in full.

   * Benefits/Financial: Sonoco offers employees working 30 hours or more a
     week defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans. It
     matches 100 percent of the first 3 percent and 50 percent of the next
     2 percent employees contribute to their 401(k) accounts. Sonoco also
     offers pension benefits.

   * Flexible scheduling: Sonoco offers flextime, job sharing, telecommuting
     and compressed schedule options.

   * Retiree Benefits/Relations: Retired employees under age 65 pay about
     30 percent of the cost for their health care and prescription drug
     coverage and 50 percent of the cost for dental coverage; the Company
     covers their life insurance premium. Sonoco's Old Timers Club supports
     social gatherings for those with 25 years of service (both retirees and
     active employees). The Company holds retirement planning workshops and
     seminars.

   * Recruiting: Eight percent of those hired by Sonoco last year were over
     50. The company recruits retired and former employees for job openings.



Sonoco is a multi-billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer
products and provider of packaging services with more than 300 locations in 36
countries, serving customers in 85 nations. The Company, which trades on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SON, was founded in 1899 in
Hartsville, S.C., where it is still headquartered. For more information about
the Company, visit the Sonoco Web site at http://www.sonoco.com/ . 

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DATASOURCE: Sonoco



CONTACT:  Mary Ruth Austin, Corporate Communications, Sonoco,

[phone], or  ; or Patrick Cobb, AARP,

[phone], or  



Web site:  http://www.sonoco.com/

http://www.aarp.org/ 

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