You’ve certainly heard of the AARP, though you might not be sure what exactly the organization is. The name stands for American Association of Retired Persons, and they’re primarily known for their lobbying activities for older Americans. The organization is a non-profit, and it sports more than 38 million members. It’s a rather sizable lobbying force, and it offers a multitude of benefits to its considerable number of members.
Originally founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, the modern AARP is derived from an earlier non-profit, the National Retired Teachers Association, or NRTA. Today, the NRTA still exists within the AARP, though it’s no longer the primary face of the organization. Today we’re looking at what exactly the AARP does, what it offers members, and whether joining is a good idea for you.
Historical Overview
The non-profit started as the NRTA in 1947, and was created by Ethel Percy Andrus. Andrus created the NRTA to promote her philosophy regarding productive aging, to destigmatize the experience of growing older. In 1958, in order to spread this philosophy further, Andrus opened the organization to all Americans over 50, thus creating the AARP.
There has been some controversy over this version of events, however. In 1978, a 60 Minutes report claimed that the AARP was originally created by Leonard Davis, the founder of insurance agency Colonial Penn Group, and was primarily meant to advertise the insurance group to older Americans. Following the publication of this report, the AARP stopped offering Colonial Penn insurance plans, and switched to Prudential Financial. Whether this was spurred by the report or not is unclear.
Non-Profit Status
The AARP was the subject of another controversy in the 1990’s. During this period, Senate hearings spearheaded by Senate Republican Alan K. Simpson investigated the organization’s non-profit, tax-exempt status. While the organization retained its tax-exempt status following the hearings, Simpson stated he was still “troubled” by the committee’s findings and the AARP’s practices.
According to the investigation, the committee did not find sufficient evidence that the AARP couldn’t be classified as a non-profit. Assertions that the organization existed primarily to sell insurance to members were found to be unproven, though the seeds of doubt were sown by these investigations. Simpson later described the AARP as “the greatest abuse of American generosity I witnessed in my time in the U.S. Senate”.
Benefits for Members
The majority of members of the AARP sign up in order to take advantage of the multitude of benefits the non-profit offers. Chief among these benefits is the free tax preparation service, which is a popular service used by over 2 million members every year. Retired persons often have incredibly complex tax returns due to their numerous assets and income sources, so it’s no surprise they would want help preparing their taxes.
Another major benefits that members receive is the discount on insurance, including home, auto, life and health insurance discounts through a partnered agency. There are also discounts and benefits on travel packages, particularly cruises, that are offered to members. The AARP magazine distributed to members is the most-circulated publication in the US, as well, and is a major draw to joining.
Membership
Membership with the AARP is $16 per year at its base amount, though this number could be lower if you sign up for multiple years at once. In all, it’s not a lot for the number of discounts and benefits you get. The only requirement for members is that you’re over 50 years old.
Really, the only thing holding anyone back from signing on as a member would be lingering concerns over their practices as a non-profit, which includes lobbying. Some people cite residual concerns from the 90’s era Senate hearings as a reason to not be a member. It’s up to you whether these concerns are enough to stop from signing up and enjoying the benefits.