I was briefly a member many years ago, and have been receiving their junk mail ever since. Their lobbying efforts in Washington are often NOT in the best interest of seniors. They are partially responsible for the fact that more than half my fixed income goes for prescription co-pays. Why should I give them any of the money that’s left?
And as for their magazine: I have no interest in reading about how super-rich celebrities are dealing with the challenges of turning 50.
Yup.
When I turned 50 I got something from the Canadian equivalent, but they’ve never bothered me since. If I move to the US (probably not during the next 1329 days) I would not join.
I joined, thinking I’d get some good discounts. But so far, I haven’t taken advantage of any of them, and I doubt that I’ll renew when they ask me.
My mom is a member of a very active AARP chapter that does a lot of community outreach. Thru her, I pass knitted items that end up in nursing homes, veterans’ homes, and an organization that helps the homeless. But I don’t need to be a member to do that.
I get periodic blandishments, nothing too tacky. I’ve declined to join as yet, ubt I suppose I’ll bend in a few years.
Me too.
AARP and NRA, both of which I’m eligible to join, are lobbying organizations. If I could find a lobbying organization that I could agree with enough to want to support I would likely be the only member.
Nyet. AAA has the same discounts and their magazine is better. I don’t have children or a spouse, so I don’t much give a crap about most of their issues.
I’ve been getting their mailed invitations for years now, but I haven’t joined.
These mailings are quite vague about the actual benefits to members. I tried to figure out what actual $ they would amount to, and couldn’t really do so. They seem to be mostly for seniors who do a lot of traveling, something I wouldn’t use. And now, online discounts seem to be equal or better.
I was amused to note that their membership invitations are vague & filled with ‘weasle words’ – just like the scams they warn seniors against!
The only reason I’d consider joining is to support the good lobbying work they do.
Their GOOD lobbying work??? I hope you’re being sarcastic.
They favor the “death tax” and gun control.
I don’t know what else they care about.
They successfully lobbied to keep Medicare from having the ability to negotiate lower drug prices. That’s when I quit my membership. And I wasn’t alone.
My parents signed me up on my 55th birthday as a joke or so they said. I dropped my membership a couple of years later and they are STILL sending me renewal requests—I’m 77 now and I ain’t gonna join 'em ever again.
Agree, that’s shitty.
I’ve never been tempted to join, but partially because I just don’t* feel *old enough (despite my advanced age)
Plus, I’m always turned off by overly aggressive marketing, and they probably win a prize for that every year.
Ever since I qualified. I’ve always basically turned a profit using the discounts and the papers/magazine aren’t bad reading.
Thanks for the replies everyone! I’ll keep them in mind if they start pestering me when I’m a US resident. (If nothing else, I’ll be impressed that they found me; nothing like living abroad for all but 4 of the last 30+ years to help one fall off the radar.)
Good to know. I’m a member of AAA already.
I’ve been bitching about AARP and the old people lobby since I was in my 30s. Now that I’ve hit my 60s I can’t bring myself to join, even for siren call of a free tote bag.
When did this happen?
Not only no, but hell no. They started stalking me about a month before I turned 50. Their aggressive recruiting tactics (some of which make it appear that you’re required to join) alone are enough to turn me off. I managed to get them to leave me alone for a couple of years by calling a number I found online after a lot of searching. Even then the operator acted like he thought I wanted to join but was too old and feeble to figure out how until I yelled at him to knock it off.
But the stalking started up again about two weeks after I moved.
I suppose if I ever become a retired person, I might think about joining an association of retired persons. Otherwise I can’t see the point.