- Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired Los Angeles school principal, realized that retired people required health insurance but were usually unable to get it. Banding together with other retired school teachers, Dr. Andrus formed the National Retired Teachers Association in 1947 to lobby insurance providers to sell health insurance to older Americans. Over the next 11 years, the organization's numbers swelled. In 1958, Dr. Andrus took the association national and changed the name to the American Association of Retired Persons.
- The AARP continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s to advocate for retired people on their members' behalf. The AARP was categorized a 501(c)(4) charity by the IRS because its proceeds were used for social-welfare advocacy and not for profit. The AARP continues to lobby state and federal governments to this day.
- In the 1980s, the AARP was scrutinized by Republican Senator Alan Simpson because he believed the AARP's leader, Leonard Davis, was using the organization to line his own pockets. The congressional investigation turned up no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Davis and the AARP.
- In 1999, the AARP altered its official name to just AARP (although it is still called the American Association of Retired Persons). In addition, the organization opted to offer membership to any person over the age of 50, whether retired or not. This coincides with a dramatic increase in the membership of the AARP. As of 2006, almost 50 percent of Americans over the age of 50 belong to the AARP.
- In 1964, the AARP began cultivating relationships with other organizations overseas to further elder rights and advocate on issues related to aging. Currently, the AARP is an adviser to the United Nations Economic and Social Council as well as being a member of GENI, a Geneva-based European aging advocacy group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Additionally, membership was opened to non-Americans. Currently, 44,000 members of the AARP are residents of Mexico, Canada and Europe.
- The AARP continues to operate as a non-partisan advocacy group. This does not mean that the AARP is apolitical; the lobbying of the AARP on prescription drug reform led to the organization's influence on the drafting of the Medicare Part D reforms of the early 21st century. Additionally, it was the AARP's advocacy on other issues that led to the creation of Medicare as well as the protection of Social Security benefits.
- The AARP offers discounts on insurance, financial services and travel expenses through its network of affiliates. Though it has entered into negotiations with these corporations, they are operated independently of the AARP's membership and leadership. There has been some confusion in the past when members mistook AARP Financial, Inc. for a subsidiary of the AARP. In fact, AARP Financial, Inc. is a separate entity which is licensed to use the AARP name in the conduct of certain financial transactions for the benefit of members.
