AARP
Despite its name, anyone can sign up for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and start enjoying many of the best benefits membership has to offer. They range from discounts on food, dining, and travel to discounted health insurance and free financial advice.
While full membership is reserved for those over the age of 50, discounts and benefits abound for everyone. Look at some of the best programs they have to offer.
Before you can consider the benefits of joining AARP, you need to know the cost of membership. Currently, it’s only $16 per month to join, and that drops to just $12 if you sign up for automatic renewal.
That means that membership often pays for itself the first time you use it. Many senior discounts don’t start until you are 55, so with a membership you can get discounts starting five years earlier. Your spouse is included with a membership. Members all receive AARP’s magazine, which has articles that range from personal finance to travel to guide you in your retirement.
AARP works closely with many restaurant chains to provide discounts of 10-15% to their members. For example, members are eligible for savings at popular places like Denny’s, Bonefish Grill, and McCormick and Schmick’s.
To further illustrate the value, if you regularly visit one of these restaurants and spend around $100 on your night out, you’ve already paid for your membership for the month.
The association also partners with many popular grocery stores and pharmacy chains from across the country. The discounts incentivize you to shop at places like Walgreens, Albertsons, and Harris Teeter, where you’ll get up to 15% of your bill.
In the same way that they work with restaurant chains, they also work with many of the most popular hotel chains. Members enjoy 15% discounts at hotels like Hilton, Wyndham, and Starwood. The money saved by booking a hotel with AARP can sometimes pay for the entire year’s membership.
Additionally, their discounts extend to rental car booking. You could earn up to 25% off at Avis or Budget and be eligible for free and discounted upgrades. Some of those upgrades include GPS navigation, adding additional divers at no cost, and free car upgrades.
You can get up to 35% on endless vacation rentals. Members also receive access to the exclusive AARP Expedia powered Travel Center, which has member-only deals. This is a great way to save on flights and even airport parking. The Travel Center also has discounts on major cruise lines.
It may require a little bit of research, but before you head out or sign up for a service, check the guide to see what you could be saving. During retirement money can be tight, but you still want something to get you out of the house.
Movie lovers save at Regal Entertainment theaters, where movie tickets are just $9.50 with some exclusions and restrictions, and you can save on popcorn and drink combos.
Because the vast majority of their members are of advanced age, many of their best programs are related to health and wellness. They allow members to save money on health insurance, medical care, and prescriptions.
The association works with Unitedcare to offer some of the best Medicare insurance programs. Therefore, members can choose the medical coverage that’s right for them. You won’t pay anything relating to co-pay at the doctor’s office or pharmacy.
One of the main AARP benefits is saving on medicine with the prescription discounts program through Optum Rx. Members can save an average of 61% on FDA-approved medications that aren’t covered by insurance. This can be a huge money saver for many that need to take daily prescriptions and don’t have the best insurance for prescription drugs.
In addition to Medicare, they’re proud to work with Delta Dental Insurance. With membership, you’re able to select the coverage programs you need the most at an affordable premium. The most inexpensive plans start at around $30 a month, and you can shop around for coverage on cleanings and X-rays.
In order to provide holistic medical coverage, members enjoy discounted vision care on EyeMed programs. They offer 3 plans to members, and each plan features the small copay of only $10. Plans themselves cost around $5 per month, one of the best plans for retirees.
As many members are retired or nearing retirement, they need to know that their families will be taken care of. For this reason, AARP partners with New York Life to bring discounted life insurance to its members at an affordable rate. Your out-of-pocket cost varies depending on the plan you choose, but their offerings are robust.
One of the AARP benefits offered to members is a discount on auto insurance. An advertisement on the AARP website shows that drivers who change their auto insurance can save around $404 on average. Rates can vary by driving record and location, so it’s possible that you will find a great deal through the plan.
Request a free rate quote to see if it does offer you the best price. It’s not just auto insurance you could save on, as you could also save on home insurance.
If all of these benefits sound enticing, just wait until you learn about all the financial planning resources and programs the association offers its members.
First are the benefits from financial giant Goldman Sachs. Members can open an 8-month no-penalty CD with Marcus by Goldman Sachs, allowing them to open an account with no fees and better interest rates than are typically available. Goldman Sachs also features special offers on loans and savings accounts for members. It’s one of the best companies to work with regarding financial planning.
Also, members can reap the benefits of the association’s many financial planning resources free of charge. They offer the Money Map so you can see just how far your dollar will stretch, as well as fraud detection, tax assistance, and informational podcasts.
Despite originally focusing on retirement, many members look to change careers or start a new one. For them, AARP provides a number of online resources to you can find that dream job or get noticed by recruiters.
The AARP Job Board is an online resource dedicated to providing jobs for those seeking to re-enter the workforce at an advanced age. The board curates listing from around the internet. This is the one-stop-shop for finding work with a company that values diverse employees.
If your circumstances change and you want or need to get back into the job force, then this is a great feature to have. You can filter by part time and full time, location, and other categories.
Of course, finding the job is only half of the process. You need an attractive resume to score an interview and get yourself hired. Therefore, they provide discounted rates on resume assistance to its members through Top Resume.
If you take advantage of the other discounts that are offered, then you could make the money back on your membership each year. There are plenty of discounts at restaurants, and for other services.
You just have to take a look at the member benefits guide. Some of the discounts include a free doughnut at Dunkin’ Donuts when you purchase any large drink or money off an Angie’s List membership.
Besides just offering discounts on many things, those with a membership can take advantage of the planning tools that are offered. The Now Mobile App offers news, local events, member discounts in your neighborhood, and push notifications. There are free online games as well, which offer a fun way to spend downtime and help sharpen problem-solving skills, math, and vocabulary.
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