It seems like the coronavirus has interrupted the flow of all things concerning retirement this month. Some of you may even feel like you’ve retired in your newly ordered lives under quarantine. (Unless of course, you now have children home 24/7.) These are strange times we are living in, but let’s stay safe and healthy in every way possible! Let’s continue to be the Church during pandemic, seeing how we can be useful in service to God, getting a little downtime in our own homes, and learning to trust Jesus more day by day. 

Here’s a good prayer for these times from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions entitled “The Infinite and the Finite.”

“Turn my heart from vanity, from dissatisfactions,

from uncertainties of the present state,

to an eternal interest in Christ.

Let me remember that life is short and unforeseen,

Give me a holy avarice to redeem the time,

So that I may feed the hungry,

clothe the naked,

instruct the ignorant,

reclaim the vicious,

forgive the offender,

diffuse the gospel,

show neighbourly love to all.

Let me live a life of self-distrust,

Dependence on thyself,

Mortification,

crucifixion,

prayer.”

And now on to the matter at hand…

Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC)

Those of us who are over 50 no doubt can remember when our mail began to contain the invitation to join AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). This group actually began as the National Retired Teachers Association and in 1958 expanded to the AARP. Their mission is “to empower people to choose how they live as they age.” AARP offers discounts and advice to retirees who join. In addition, AARP provides retirement planning, investment and insurance services to its members. The group has a strong lobbying effort that pushes for keeping Medicaid available to low-income and disabled elderly, as well as prescription costs and out of pocket costs for seniors to a minimum. The annual membership cost is $16 and as of 2018, AARP reports 38 million members. According to the AARP, the most recent records available from 2015 show that the group also received over $80 million dollars from federal sources and through all its activities, annually pulls in over one billion dollars.

My objective here is not to discuss the pros and cons of AARP. You are able to settle your own curiosities about this organization by checking into it yourselves. However, I will just mention that they historically have supported more liberal policies rather than conservative; the most recent and notable is their support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). According to Joseph Slife of Sound Mind Investing, AARP lost about 300,000 members because of their stand on that issue. Their lobbyist position is their members’ dollars at work, so it is important to me to see just where their lobby support is going. I was not pleased with their stand on many issues dating as far back as their beginning. In my further research, I cannot find evidence that AARP financially supports Planned Parenthood, but their website does disclose that they support embryonic stem cell research. Personally, I want no part of that. 

Through the years, there are a number of more conservative senior advocacy groups that have sprung up. Again, if you are of retirement age, my advice would be for you to check into all of them. I am reporting on just one of these, which I recently joined—Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). AMAC was founded in 2007 and seven years later boosted its membership by more than one million members when it merged with another similarly conservative group, Generation America. Today AMAC has over two million members and is the fastest growing organization of its kind, according to AMAC.

AMAC’s website describes why such a group is needed. “AMAC was founded to provide conservative Americans with an alternative to AARP. While we strive to provide quality discounted products and services to our valued members, our core purpose is to advocate for Americans aged 50+ on issues of extreme importance such as: Social Security, Taxes, Growth in Government, Medical Care, National Debt, and Immigration.”

It does appear that AMAC takes its advocacy programs seriously. According to their website, “AMAC takes a stand in Washington to address important issues like healthcare reform, immigration and border protection, fixing Social Security, reducing prescription drugs costs, and much more.” The member benefits are effective competitors with those of AARP, offering discounts on insurance as well as providing its own Medicare supplements, Advantage Plans and Prescription Drug Plans. There is also a plan to help with home care, assisted living or nursing home care. A good repertoire of businesses offers discounts on their services and products. The annual membership fee matches that of AARP—just $16 per year. Members receive newsletters and a magazine, AMAC Advantage, which keep them abreast of issues and news pertaining especially to seniors.

As I said previously, I recently became an AMAC member. I haven’t had time to really begin using the discounts, but I plan to.  I have enjoyed their publications, however, and I am pleased with the fact that I am part of an organization that lines up with my own views rather than putting my money into an organization whose money is supporting policies that I do not. I don’t think membership into senior groups such as these are vital or necessary, but completely an individual choice. Yet, the discounts and discounted programs are valuable to those of us on a fixed income. I also like knowing there is someone in Washington who is advocating for the same things I would like to see and benefit from.