AARP has announced its list of the top 50 employers for workers over 50 for 2006. This is the sixth year that AARP has compiled this list.

AARP says that any employer with at least 50 employees was welcome to apply for a place on the list. Companies were reviewed in seven categories:

* Benefits
* Recruiting practices
* Workplace culture
* Continued opportunities
* Opportunities for retirees
* Organization statistics
* Innovative practices

The top best companies for workers over 50 as rated by AARP:

1 Mercy Health System WI
2 Lee Memorial Health System FL
3 Bon Secours Richmond Health System VA
4 Leesburg Regional Medical Center and The Villages Regional Hospital FL
5 Yale-New Haven Hospital CT
6 Volkswagen of America, Inc. MI
7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA
8 Oakwood Healthcare System, Inc. MI
9 First Horizon National Corporation TN
10 Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. NJ

To see the full list visit the AARP website.

When you reach a milestone, it is only right that you celebrate it by doing things that you have never done before. If you are short of ideas, the book Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty (Fifty Experts on the Subject of Turning Fifty) can be a great resource.

Edited by Ronnie Sellers, Gerit Quealy, Debra Gordon, Brian O’Connell, Sarah Mahoney and Allison Kyle Leopold, this book is a treasure trove of both practical and fun things you should consider as you reach that half-century mark.

The list of “experts” include Bobbi Brown, beauty expert; Harold Kushner, Rabbi; Diane von Furstenberg, clothing designer; Garrison Keillor, radio personality and humorist; and many others.

The book has advice on financial and social strategies as well as delving into spiritual matters and important medical tests. Throw in a good helping of humor and you have fifty great essays on turning fifty. A great resource and a lot of fun to read for anyone entering their fifth decade. The book makes a great gift as well.