Posted on 07/22/2020 4:30:50 AM PDT by Kaslin
Editor's Note: Jon Decker is the co-author of this piece.
Last week, the AARP sent a letter to the Department of Labor requesting a delay of a Department of Labor proposal to align its rules for investment advisers with the SEC's "best interest" standard, to give investors more choices while protecting their retirement savings.
It's no surprise that the AARP would seek to thwart one of President Trump's policy objectives. Instead of being a neutral advocate for seniors, the AARP routinely engages in far-left political advocacy. Recall that when seniors were contacting the AARP 14-to-1 urging the group to oppose Obamacare, they instead supported it. Since the law’s passage and implementation, the AARP has received well over $4 billion in “royalties” from its for-profit partner UnitedHealth, most of which comes from their exclusive sale of "AARP" branded UnitedHealth insurance plans.
There is some unique irony in AARP's latest foray into political activism. They are seeking to delay President Trump's retirement rules which are designed to replace an Obama administration regulation known as the fiduciary rule that was struck down in court.
Obama's so-called "fiduciary rule" was dubbed "Obamacare for your retirement" because, under his proposal, if you like your retirement plan or investment advisor, you may not be able to keep it. Estimates show that the rule would have disqualified up to 7 million IRA holders from receiving investment advice and cost consumers an eye-popping $31.5 billion.
Despite the fact that Obama's regulations amounted to an all-out war on seniors' retirement plans, the AARP – allegedly a seniors advocacy group – supported it due to their misguided belief that seniors aren't smart enough to plan for their own retirement. (We can't help but wonder if the Obama rule would have benefited AARP's corporate investment advisory partners.)
It is laughable that the AARP would call for the federal government to tell seniors how to manage their money – just look how the government manages its own!
But here's the real kicker. While the AARP wants to police retirement decisions by enforcing a "fiduciary rule" in an ill-fated attempt to protect seniors, the AARP recently got a lawsuit dismissed by claiming they themselves have no "fiduciary" responsibility to seniors whatsoever – even though they are a seniors organization!
The lawsuit Krukas v. AARP alleged:
“AARP and UnitedHealth, together and through their respective subsidiaries, have orchestrated an elaborate scheme where AARP, as the de facto agent of UnitedHealth, helps market, solicit, and sell or renew AARP Medigap policies and generally administers the AARP Medigap program for UnitedHealth… AARP received ‘a 4.95% commission from every policy sold or renewed,’ id., which ‘constitutes an illegal kickback,’… AARP collects an illegal commission, acts as an unlicensed insurance agent, and materially misrepresents information about the 4.95% charge, all of which constitute violations of the CPPA and common law.”
Lawyers for AARP successfully got the case dismissed by arguing that there is no requirement for the AARP to “act with the interests of [seniors] in mind" and that "The relationship between a member and a membership organization is not one of ‘trust or confidence’ that creates a fiduciary duty.” Membership to the AARP “does not ‘transcend an ordinary business’ relationship.”
So while the AARP is clamoring for the federal government to enforce "fiduciary rules" on retirement investing, the organization refuses to hold itself to any fiduciary standard whatsoever.
If the AARP isn't accountable to seniors, why should anyone pay any attention to their advocacy?
AARP was on board with obama nuff sed, I throw thier sh## in the garbage when I get it
I take the “membership” cards they send us and put them in the outgoing kitty litter.
I put them through my shredder
AARP is an insurance broker. I return their prepaid envelopes to them ... empty.
I have commend the AARP for this. Any organization that can publicly oppose more than 90% of its members and still be in business has obviously raised their con game to an art form.
Same here. I get their junk all the time.
I must get a round of AARP promo stuff every 2 weeks. As bad as credit card applications.
save for later read
I’ll be 65 in the not to distant future. Anyone familiar with AMAC?
I doubt anything said by the opponents of the fiduciary rule. Far too many of the "advisers" against it were scummy insurace salesmen who claimed their high cost, low return, nearly impossible to move insurance contracts were the best thing for your retirement. I don't know the details about the Obama fiduciary rule, but I would never accept advice from a financial adviser who was not legally and contractually bound to act in my best interests and not his own.
AARP was on board with obama nuff sed, I throw thier sh## in the garbage when I get it
_____________
I mail the postage “free” envelopes back empty so they have to pay for it. I stopped getting them after wwhile!
It’s part of many American’s mindlessness. Simply put, it is the “American Association of Retired Persons”, and therefore anyone retired or thinking of such just joins.
Just like many people I’ve known where they were raised as democrats just vote that way regardless of party platform, who is running or their records.
I can’t explain it, maybe it’s a form of herd mentality.
This will account for a great percentage of Biden’s votes.
“I return their prepaid envelopes to them ... empty.”
Find a way to increase the weight. It costs them more that way.
L
Good post. Renowned financial advisor Ric Edelman has long said that he didn’t have any concerns about the fiduciary rule because he had already operated as if he had a fiduciary duty to his clients.
I use to send the envelope back. I haven't seen a membership offer from them for quite a while now. After sending me stuff for a decade, they must have figured out I wasn't going to join..
Just put as much junk mail laying around, in their return envelopes. The intent is for them to get tired enough of unnecessary expenses that they will cease their nefarious activities.
Mike Gallagher (a great talk radio host) has a commercial for AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens; he says it’s a conservative alternative to the leftist AARP. It was apparently formed after a large percentage of seniors urged the AARP to reject Obamacare, but the organization supported it anyway.
I have to check it out. It sounds interesting; I don’t know if it’s a non-profit group or what.
It has been enormously successful at both.
They are one of the most successful cons ever pulled off.
I just bought my medigap insurance through AMAC ... great experience overall ...
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