P.M. BRIEFING : Utilities Offer Golden Handshake

PacifiCorp has offered early retirement to about 640 non-union employees of its two electric utilities to speed the implementation of efficiency measures, the company announced today.

The move resulted from productivity and organizational studies of PacifiCorp’s electric utility divisions, Pacific Power & Light and Utah Power & Light, which combined operations in January of last year, officials said.

The package is being offered to all non-union employees with at least five years of service with the company and who will be age 50 or older by the end of the year. The employees will be given until July 2 to make their decisions.

Union employees are not eligible for the program, which provides eligible workers with a series of retirement incentives. They include benefits based on adding five years to an employee’s length of service and no reduction of benefits because of age.

Officials estimated that about 450 eligible workers, or 70% of the total, will volunteer to take the early retirement package, which also includes additional monthly benefits to bridge the gap between retirement and age 62, when they become eligible for Social Security benefits.