AARP's Dirty Laundry

[crazy connie]

Good to know that the fox is in the henhouse.

AARP’s Stealth Fees Often Sting Seniors With Costlier Insurance

Bloomberg.com: Invest

 

[freebird5825]

a devil's advocate, if i may...
we have not seen the data (oh boy, there i go again with that darn "show me the data" thing ). we do not know if the insurance policies quoted were apples to apples. we do not know if this guy told one company he was accident free and the other if he was not accident free. the huge difference in auto ins rates tells me there is a bit more to this story.
here's some real live subjective data for dental insurance comparison. before I FIREd from the fed govt, i was eligible to enroll in one of their brand new, 100% self paid dental insurance plans. i compared premiums for IDENTICAL coverage for self only between AARP Delta Dental and the 2 or 3 dental ins companies approved by OPM. AARP Delta Dental was just a little more than half the price.
a future bonus benefit - i was even allowed to add dh2b 2 yrs later on a Self+1 policy mod.
has AAFP gone to the dark side? maybe. but let's get some DATA to support this article. has anyone else compared AARP endorsed auto insurance rates? i'm half tempted to go do this rate comparison for myself. i have a completely clean driver's license, no accidents and am exactly 50.
if i get a chance, i'll get quotes next week.

 

[travelover]

Bear in mind that AARP crossed the Republican party over SS privatization and have been in their, and their surrogates' (FOX, et al.) sights ever since.

FOXNews.com - AARP Rakes in Cash - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum


Oops, time to move this to the soapbox....LOL

 

[ziggy29]

I seem to remember that AARP used to have S&P 500 index funds with something like 0.6% expense ratios. May not have been quite that much, but for an index fund it was very high. And they were pushing managed funds with expense ratios close to 2%.

 

[2B]

Unfortunately I'm eligable to be an AARP member, however, it does beat the alternative. I've looked at several of the "members only" investment options and have found them to have high fees. IMHO, they are ripping off their trusting members with high fee products. This is the classic case of "let the buyer beware."

 

[mark500]

I am a member of the AARP. Ambivalent about it. Sometimes I think their lobbying slogan should be "It's OK to eat your kids".

 

[SteveL]

AARP is a good way to get a hotel discount if you aren't in AAA, and that is about it.

 

[ziggy29]

AARP is a good way to get a hotel discount if you aren't in AAA, and that is about it.

It will be seven years before I'm eligible for AARP, but if I eventually choose to hold my nose and join (I don't like a lot of their "rob our grandchildren's prosperity for our benefit" positions on the issues), it will be only to get AARP discounts.

 

[tangomonster]

I became disillusioned with them over the new health insurance they introduced in Georgia:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/aarp-aetna-premier-health-insurance-a-rant-40197.html

Wish DH hadn't sent them in a payment for five years of membership!

 

[kcowan]

AARP is an affinity marketing organization. You can expect the fees to be higher sometimes because the suppliers give the AARP a sales commission. As with all such organizations, it is buyer beware. You must become knowledgeable and comparison shop for your services.

 

[2B]

Wish DH hadn't sent them in a payment for five years of membership!

It's worth joining for the discounts at motels. It's the only last minute discount that I know of that works. You can get $10 to $30 off per night.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

never bothered joining and not just because i was insulted when they started recruiting before i hit 50. they sent a new membership card in a new envelope almost weekly for about a year. first, there's gotta be something wrong with anyone who wants me that badly. as i've never been a tease, i didn't see any reason to encourage them. second, i figured i'd wind up paying for all their postage & paperwork somewhere down the line.

 

[charlie]

Lynda and I use AARP to buy Medicare supplemental insurance. We are very pleased with it. The cost is competitive with other insureres. The
best feature is that the rate is the same for all ages in Texas (at least). The only way they can raise rates is to raise them for everybody.

Cheers,

charlie