Retiring Early with AARP!

AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit organization, advocating for the needs of older Americans. With over 38 million members, AARP is HUGE. But what many people don't know is that AARP offers a wide range of benefits and resources for people of all ages, including YOU.

[Disclosure: I’m a member of AARP because it’s saved me a boatload of cash. More on this later…]

Oh, and of course, you don’t have to be “old.” Any age can join. In fact, nearly 20% of AARP members are under the age of 55.

It costs peanuts too. How much? At the time of this writing, $16. You read that right. $16!

I’m such a saver, I even used a credit card offer to save $4 on a membership. Yes - I’m that obsessed.

“Isn’t AARP just an organization that gives old people information?”

Uhm, no. Below, you’ll see some of the benefits I find most valuable:

Discounts on travel - AARP members can save money on a wide range of travel, including rental cars, hotels, flights - even all-inclusive vacation packages
Discounts on financial services & products - this is my favorite benefit. AARP offers a number of options for banking, financial services, and even trust and estate planning
Discounts on consumer services - for example, AT&T members get $10 off per line on certain memberships. That’s $120 a year savings - for an annual fee of $16!
Insurance needs - tons of resources including insurance for autos, vision, dental, and life insurance. We almost switched to an AARP plan for our dental it was that enticing!

In fact, the travel benefit had a popular partnership with British Airways. You could score a discount of up to $200 for a premium class on a flight between US and Europe. So many individuals signed up for AARP for the feature alone!

Most of the members are in their retirement years. But not all and certainly not me! Some interesting data points about their audience:

Nearly 20% of AARP members are under the age of 55.
The average age of an AARP member is 60.
More than half of AARP members are women.
AARP members are more likely to have a college degree than the general population.
AARP members are more likely to be employed than the general population.

So why did I initially sign up? Well, AARP offers an interest rate boost on a certain savings account from Marcus by Goldman Sachs. For 2 years from enrollment, Marcus provides an extra 0.10% boost to the current interest rate level.

So, if you start with $50,000 in a Marcus savings account, you will end up with $100 more over 2 years than if you never got the offer (50,000 x .0010 = $50 each year - FYI, I’m not calculating for compounding). Not bad for a $16 annual membership!

I already had a Marcus account. I called them up, gave them my AARP number, and poof - I started earning extra interest on my account.

AARP may not be the sassiest of organizations to join, but for a tiny annual fee, you get a ton of value. From discounts on goods, services, and insurance to financial resources, AARP is more than just a social hangout for the senior crowd.

With the savings we’ve already received on our membership, you can bet we will continue to be a member and try to retire early with AARP!

Save On,

Chris