Gephardt Busts Inflation: Folks younger than 50 can join AARP and use its many discounts

SALT LAKE CITY — You probably have heard of the acronym AARP — the American Association of Retired Persons. But you know who is not retired? Social media influencer, Zach Burr, though he doesn’t look old enough to retire.

“Well, I do moisturize,” he quipped.

Burr joined AARP nine years ago, when he was just 34 years old. He’s been qualifying for their 50-and-over discounts ever since, without cheating.

“I read the rules pretty carefully, but I was still looking out my window and making sure the cops weren’t coming,” Burr said. “But I’m a full-time travel blogger, and it was sort of one of these known open secrets type things.”

Burr has been talking about his AARP membership on his TikTok account. That caught the attention of AARP Senior Vice President Barbara Shipley. Not only does she fully embrace what Burr is doing, she is now partnering with the influencer.

“They are not cheating. They are welcome,” Shipley said of AARP’s youngest members. “They are taking advantage of an opportunity to save money and stretch their dollar, and we celebrate that.”

Joining AARP is not free; it is $12 per year. There is no minimum age, and all members “get instant access to hundreds of benefits,” including discounts on travel, restaurants, insurance and more.

Burr likes the discounted gift cards.

“You can actually buy them at a discount to face value,” he said.

So, has the R in AARP become obsolete? Shipley says no.

“Boy, retirement has changed a whole lot in the last couple of decades,” she said. “So, people are reinventing that as well, and we’re reinventing it along with them.”

The AARP has launched a social media contest where they give away money to people who post about using their AARP discounts.