How has the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) been valuable in addressing problems of ...

The largest organization representing the nation's elderly is the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which was founded in 1958 by a retired school principal who was having difficulty obtaining insurance because of age prejudice. Many of AARP's services involve discounts and insurance for its members. After recognizing that many elderly are still gainfully employed, the full name was dropped and the organization is now simply AARP.

The potential power of AARP is enormous; it represents one out of every four registered voters in the United States. AARP has endorsed voter-registration campaigns, nursing home reforms, and pension reforms. Acknowledging its difficulties in recruiting members of racial and ethnic minority groups, AARP began a Minority Affairs Initiative.

AARP lobbies to protect older adults in general, whereas other groups work in more specific ways. Older adults in the United States are better off today financially and physically than ever before. Many of them have strong financial assets and medical care packages that will take care of almost any need.

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