I’ll be 50 in roughly a week and I’ve been getting stuff from AARP over the past few months.
If you’re a member, what have been the benefits?
If you’re of eligible age and not a member, why not?
I’m of eligible age, but they have never contacted me for some reason. I’ve never heard of them before. Who are they? What do they do?
djm
Possibly because you’re not an american…
I like their magazine. It’s often quite interesting as magazines go.
I’m not 50 for–yikes…just a few more years–but we’ve been members since my husband turned 50 a decade ago.
Should you join? Well…it does sometimes afford you perks like minor discounts on hotels or car rentals. No better than you’d
also get by being a member of AAA.
They also provide useful information and resources regarding Medicare-related prescription plans and whatnot. This, of course,
is not relevant for most 50 year olds who are not eligible yet, but I did buy a AARP-sponsored plan D for my husband who qualified
earlier than the normal age, and I appreciate the insights they provide in their mag and newsletters.
As far as I know though, people who are old enough can buy AARP-endorsed Medicare add-ons whether or not they are members.
I don’t think there’s an overriding reason why you should subscribe, unless you especially like magazines or you think you’d be likely to make
use of travel discounts though.
Canadians also qualify as being Americans in that Canada is part of North America, although the United States of America likes to take the name American solely for itself. I don’t know how Canadians feel about that.
With regard to AARP I have let my membership expire. I didn’t read the magazine, didn’t want any of their corollary services such as life or car insurance and health care policies, and didn’t feel that I wanted to continue paying the dues for membership. However, as a powerful voice for the interests of retired persons, I have no doubt that AARP is performing a useful service, much as unions provide a similar advocacy service for working people.
It bugs us much less than being told that Canada is “just like the US’s backyard!”
I joined a year or two ago. Get my car and house insurance through them (better deals than I was able to find elsewhere). I usually enjoy the magazine–or at least some parts of it. They’ve usually got some good articles about financial issues for retired/retiring folks…things anybody in their 50s ought to start thinking about.
Susan
Became a member twenty years or so ago but dropped it after the prescription drug fiasco. It is my mother’s supplemental, helping to pay for the stroke, emergency room, hospital stay, rehab, MRI, ct scan, carotid scans, EEG, she had on Jan. 22nd. Isn’t worth squat for her meds, she lives in the donut hole from Jan. 1st. until about Nov. 29th. and of course I can’t pre-buy meds for that one month period when the gov. would actually help pay some of the cost.
I’ll be 55 later this year, and AARP has already been sending mail notices to me for some years now.
Huh? AARP? Wait a minute, ya gotta be “old” to join AARP, right?
Hey! I’m not that old, yet!
If you travel, or are where you can utilize the benefits, then I think it’s worth the paltry membership dues. ($12, I think?) I, on the other hand, live in the middle of nowhere, and don’t get to travel much, so the perks are negligible and I hve not been tempted.
My father is a member; he’s galloping towards sixty.
He doesn’t do anything of that nature unless he sees a rational and logical reason for doing so, so there must be some perks to it (then again, he is a member of the NRA… 
). I know there’s a supplemental Medicare coverage for members, among many other things.
I tried it one year and thought AAA gave me better discounts when I traveled.
I joined when I turned 50, 8 yrs ago. The magazine is actually quite good, and not just for geezers like me. They also send around a newsletter with legislation that affects “more mature” people, travel ideas, etc. AARP is particularly good at explaining the ins and outs of health insurance, especially Medicare. I was a Medicare provider (as a podiatrist) for many years and believe me it’s VERY complicated. A huge number of my Medicare patients truly did not understand their own insurance.
Most importantly, AARP is a powerful lobbying force which really looks out for the best interests of it’s members. That alone is easily worth the very reasonable yearly membership fee.
My wife is a member and uses the Medicare supplemental. I belong to an HMO and have far superior medical support, including prescriptions. We don’t use any of the other offerings.
Sandy
Neither of us are members (yet) because of not needing the supplimental insurance (yet).
I also belong to AARP. The dues are cheap. I usually agree with their advocacy positions and the magazine usually has at least one interesting or fun item.
As for “America”, I accept that as a country we are sometimes dangerously self-absorbed. That said, I think we are the only country on the planet with the word “America” as part of their formal name. I don’t think using America as short hand is poaching on anyone else’s sovereignty.
Canadians can join AARP, it’s fishy I know.
There are a lot of canadian retirees who spend the winter months in florida or arizona. As long as they spend 183 days a year in Canada, they don’t lose their canadian residence status and access to medicare.
CARP is part of AARP International
yep…sounds fishy