AARP

Definition

AARP is the largest non-profit advocacy organization in the United States for people age 50 and older.

Description

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the largest advocacy organization in the United States for seniors, with 39 million members as of 2008. Since every member receives a subscription to AARP The Magazine, the publication has the highest circulation of any magazine in the U.S. The organization is an advocate for the rights of Americans age 50 and older, primarily through its intense and wide-reaching lobbying efforts at the federal and state levels. It also is also a leader in providing health and life insurance, financial services, travel services, employer and employee services, and even entertainment services to its members. Once thought of as an organization that the elderly join when they retire at age 65, the organization has transformed itself to emphasize the youthful side of older adults, starting with officially changing its name to AARP in 1998, getting rid of the word “retired” which the organization's research found was a turnoff to many older Americans. It also renamed its official magazine from Modern Maturity to AARP The Magazine. In 2000, AARP began a five-year $100 million effort to reshape its image and brand-name to attract a new generation of members: the 78 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1965. The first wave of “boomers” turned 50 in 1996, the age at which people become eligible for membership. The median age of members is 65 and slightly more than half of members are women. As of 2008, annual membership dues were $12.50.

AARP's re-imaging included an advertising campaign that featured younger mature adults, often engaged in physical activities such as tennis, golf, and adventure travel. Its advertising focused on nearly all of the major print, radio, television, and internet outlets, including Time, BusinessWeek, Fortune, the Washington Post, National Public Radio (NPR), CNN, and AOL-Time Warner. The AARP magazine began featuring younger mature celebrities on its covers and in its feature articles, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Elton John, Jack Nicholson, Caroline Kennedy, and Paul McCartney, who as a Beatle recorded “When I'm Sixty-Four” for the groundbreaking “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” album in 1967. AARP also launched a direct mail campaign in which everyone in the U.S. who turns 50 gets a membership application, often arriving on the person's birthday.

KEY TERMS

Adventure travel —Travel in which the traveler takes an active rather than passive role, such as hiking, cycling, mountain climbing, or white water rafting.

Baby boomers —Also called boomers, anyone born between 1946 and 1965.

AARP was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired high school principal. The organization evolved from the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA), which Andrus founded in 1947 to promote the philosophy of remaining a productive member of society after retirement, and in response to the need of retired teachers for health insurance. At that time, private health insurance was almost impossible for older Americans to obtain. It was not until 1965 that the federal government established the Medicare program, which provides health benefits to persons age 65 and older. Andrus approached dozens of insurance companies until she found one willing to insure older persons. She then developed other benefits and programs, including a discount mail order pharmacy service. Over the years NRTA heard from thousands of others who wanted to know how they could obtain insurance and other NRTA benefits without being retired teachers. After ten years, Andrus decided to create a new organization, the American Association of Retired Persons, open to all Americans, according to AARP's Website. Today, NRTA is a division within AARP. Even people younger than age 50 can join as “associate” members.

As of 2008, AARP offered a wide range of benefits to members, including:

• Automobile and homeowners insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term health care insurance
• Travel programs, tours, cruises, and discounts
• Eye health services
• Investment programs
• Credit card services
• An American Automobile Association-style motoring plan
• A legal services network
• Driver safety program
• Free tax counseling
• Volunteer community service programs
• A work-training program for low-income members age 55 and older

Viewpoints

Many baby boomers, obsessed with staying young, do not want to be associated with what they perceive to be an organization for shuffleboard-playing grandparents in Florida, according to an April 11, 2006, article in the New York Times. “For starters, baby boomers are farther from retirement. Where 84 percent of current retirees had retired by age 64, according to a survey sponsored by the Society of Actuaries last fall (2005), just 32 percent of boomers expect to do so now. They also tend to be more physically fit, more adept with technology and less respectful of authority than their parents were at their age. And they are more likely to have young children,” wrote the article's author, Fran Hawthorne. Several authors and others question whether AARP can connect with the philosophy, lifestyles, and attitudes of many baby boomers. One of those critics is Ken Dychtwald, author of seven books on aging. Another is author and Harvard professor Robert Putnam, who believes baby boomers are not inclined to join organizations, especially ones that emphasize age. Many baby boomers agree and believe that AARP's philosophy is often at odds with their own philosophies of emphasizing youthfulness over aging. Many baby boomers don't want to be reminded that they are aging and want to slow or even reverse the aging process as much as they can.

Resources

BOOKS

Dychtwalk, Ken, and Daniel J. Kadlec. The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest of Your Life. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2005.

Hochadel, MaryAnne. The AARP Guide to Pills: Essential Information on More Than 1,200 Prescription & Nonprescription Medications, Including Generics, Side Effects & Drug Interactions. New York: Sterling, 2007.

Palermo, Michael T. AARP Crash Course in Estate Planning, Updated Edition: The Essential Guide to Wills, Trusts, and Your Personal Legacy. New York: Sterling, 2008.

Perrin, Rosemarie. An AARP Guide: Living with Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know to Safeguard Your Health and Take Control of Your Life. New York: Sterling, 2007.

PERIODICALS

Donnelly, Sally B. “Growing Younger.” Time (December 18, 2006): A13.

Hawthorne, Fran. “AARP's Invite Presents a Wrinkle for Some.” New York Times (April 11, 2006): N/A.

Kuehner-Hebert, Katie. “Banks Find Partner in AARP to Meet Elderly Clients' Needs.” American Banker (October 27, 2006): 1.

Loomis, Carol J. “AARP Skews Younger.” Fortune (May 15, 2006): 36.

Panko, Ron. “The Power of Numbers: Aetna and UnitedHealth's Contracts with AARP and Its 39 Million Members are Reshaping Individual Health-Care.” Best's Review (November 2007): 88(3).

Paoletta, Michael. “Old People Rock: AARP Plans a Multiplatform Music Campaign.” Billboard (June 10, 2006): 8.

ORGANIZATIONS

AARP, 601 E St., N.W., Washington, DC, 20049, (888) 687–2277, http://www.aarp.org.

Ken R. Wells