Under existing legislation, employers can terminate group benefit plans for employees aged 65 and older and those workers are shifted onto the province’s health-care plan.

With the legislative change, however, employers will no longer be allowed to terminate benefits for any employee “solely on the basis of age” and will have to cover health-care and benefit costs for those over 65 themselves.

“So it means that Alberta employers and their employees are going to be looking at the possibility of premium costs going up over time, as those plans are responsible for paying for more health care,” she said in an interview.

“Employers have to find that money somewhere or they start, you know, trimming back a little bit the generosity of their insurance coverage.”