Nationwide Insurance Terminated due to age and medical history after 26 years! Richmond Virginia

I thought I was going to be employed with the same company until retirement but after 26 years, I found out that they were not on my side (or anyone else's).  Nationwide only cares about how much money they are making.  They also claim to be "diverse" but they really only want employees that are "members" of their "big boy" club.

Don't support the wrong sports teams and you had better be a republican!  Sure, they let a minimal number of "different" people keep their employment... as long as they don't break any other "rules."

I was hired under the handbook that promised money for my health insurance during my retirement... as long as I was still hired at age 55.  But then I noticed that several of us were being terminated at age 54... but only those of us that had a prior medical history.  The guy who worked across from me had a hip replacement... and he was terminated at 54.  I had a history of heart surgery... and I was terminated at 54.  

Of course, Nationwide claims that my work quality had dropped... yet I was given more new assignments than any of my co-workers.  I was also given extra assignments which included training newly hired employees (one of whom is my replacement).  My last employee evaluation was practically identical to my previous one... yet the ending "grade" had dropped to "poor."  

When I pointed out that their file review was full of mistakes and incorrect accusations, the only thing they said was, "Well, home office said to proceed with the termination."  They would not let me defend my work.  They also waited until the end of the day so they could get as much work out of me as they could.  Then they told me that my health insurance coverage would end at midnight that same night!  One final blow before I left the office for the last time.

It is very difficult to start over at age 54.  I unfortunately had to use my 401K to make my house payments.  Now I owe a small fortune in taxes and penalties.  But Nationwide does not care.  They are just happy that they will get to save several hundred dollars each month that would have gone to my health insurance.  I can only hope that the people who did this to me will get the same treatment!

Of course, Nationwide lets a few people through the age/medical wall in order to keep the lawsuits down.  Employees are also instructed not to talk to co-workers about how much work is being assigned, what employment plans are in place, and any other information that might could be used against the company.  

In addition to my job termination, they also cancelled my homeowner's policy that I had with them for 25 years... because I have ivy growing on a brick wall!  I sent them a 65-page study completed by the University of Oxford that showed the results of a 3-year study that states that ivy cannot harm a brick and mortar wall.  This did not matter.  I was told by an employee in the homeowner's area that they were instructed to find reasons to cancell policies that had been in place a long time without a claim!  Their reasoning?  If a policy hasn't had a claim in over 15 years, then they were "probably" getting ready to make a claim!  On whose side?  Not ours!

Current employees better watch their backs!