American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit and nonpartisan membership organization that advocates on behalf of its membership. It is considered one of the more powerful lobbying groups in the United States.
The AARP was founded in 1958 by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired educator from California. To gain membership in AARP a person must be 50 years of age or older. A third of the members are under the age of 60, 46 percent are 60 to 74 years of age, and 21 percent are 70 years of age or older. About half of all members are working either full- or part-time, and the rest of the members are retired.
AARP’s motto, spoken by its founder, Dr. Andrus, is to serve, not to be served. The vision of AARP is to excel as a dynamic presence in every community, shaping and enriching the experience of aging for each member and for society.
Efforts of the association are focused on four specific areas: health and wellness, economic security and work, long-term care and independent living, and personal enrichment. The AARP has a long history of advocacy for people age 50 and older and has gained a reputation as one of the fiercest lobbying organizations on Capitol Hill. In recent years advocacy efforts have been focused on the following issues:
1. Ensuring the solvency of Social Security
2. Protecting pensions
3. Fighting age discrimination
4. Providing prescription drug coverage in Medicare
5. Protecting patients in managed care and long-term care
6. Antipredatory home loan lending
AARP sponsors various programs for its members. The largest programs are the 55 ALIVE driver safety program, AARP Tax-Aide, and the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). The 55 LIVE program provides driver education to older drivers, which can lower the costs of their automobile insurance rates. Tax-Aide provides free tax return preparation primarily for low- and middle-income people age 60 and over.
AARP’s third-largest program, SCSEP, trains and transitions low-income older persons into paid employment. AARP has local offices around the United States that participate in advocacy efforts and offer such programs summarized above for members.
