I think an employer has no choice and has to offer a commuted value option under current law.
 At his age it would be a crap shoot whether the funds would grow or shrink over time. I took my CV at age 62 and although my total sum was lower my LIRA portion(tax free and registered)was much higher and I had saved a lot room in my RRSP. I ended up paying only $52,000 in tax ,but had been planning my exit for years. 
 If you are a long term investor as I am with several hundred thousand invested for years, the odds are you are going to do well. Many of  my workmates who went the CV route have not done as well and in one case a fellow has lost it all in 5 years.(think 2008ish) Bad financial advice from so called experts seems to be the common denominator for those that have lost money long term, so be careful who you take advice from.