AARP
The American Association of Retired Persons
Founded July 1, 1958
Founder: Ethel Percy Andrus
Non-Profit non-governmental organization

Who is AARP?

AARP stands for the American Association for Retired Persons and was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus. Ethel never married or had children and instead dedicated her life to caring for her mother and set out to change America forever.

She made it her mission to help the elderly community as she saw many of her colleagues struggling financially, emotionally, and physically without the means to live happy and dignified lives. Not long after Ethel retired and once her mother became well again, she set out for more civil service. One day she was asked to check on an old colleague and to her surprise, this woman was living in a chicken coop behind the property of a farmer.  As this friend told her how she had managed to lose everything Ethel realized she needed to do more for the elderly community. From that point on she formed AARP, helped pass the Age Discrimination Employment Act, and participated in many more projects that changed the way seniors lived! She started a movement that changed the way seniors saw life after 50. There was a lot of living to do! Now more than ever we are asking our seniors to come out of retirement to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AARP has over 38 million members and offers everything from travel discounts to health insurance under their umbrella and with the protection of their mission. This organization has one of the most-read magazines of all time and continues to grow each year.

What They Stand For:

AARP’s mission is simple; they look to “empower people to choose how they live as they age.” They have continued to stay true to their founder’s mission. She didn’t believe in retiring and aging as a disability yet a privilege. With age comes experience and with experience, the aging community can transfer knowledge. They can teach, they can be active, and they can continue to LIVE. You can listen to Ethel’s mission here directly posted on AARP’s website.

Pros and Cons:

With every organization, there are always pros and cons. While this organization is the second-largest non-governmental organization in the United States it doesn’t come without its share of issues. We at MLD fully support AARP yet we also support our mission to keep you fully informed.

AARP Pros:

• Membership is cheap! For only $16 or less a year, anyone 50 or older can join
• They offer financial information to help seniors organize their retirement plan
• AARP offers lines of insurance that help in life during and after retirement
• Offers a wide variety of exclusive deals on products and services related to senior living
• They are known for their GREAT TRAVEL DEALS. Ethel Andrus supported seniors getting out there and seeing the world once they were no longer tied to a 9-5 pm.
• Their AARP The Magazine is filled with valuable information about adult life and is one of the most-read magazines in the US

AARP Cons:

• AARP makes millions by selling 3^rd-party services in order to support their free services which can cause Conflicts of Interest
• They heavily participate in lobbying to protect the interest of senior citizens and laws that may affect them
• You have to pay to be a member though I do not see this as much of a con seeing as membership fees are so cheap

To watch the video about AARP click here and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more helpful videos!

Mark Dupre and the MLD Agency are licensed to sell all of the AARP health and life insurance products. If you want to learn more about their plans, contact us here at the MLD! We are always happy to answer questions about whether you are a client or not.

AARP Historical Timeline