Letter from the Chair
Darlene DeRemer
During 2010, AARP Services, Inc. (ASI) did a lot of listening
and a lot of learning. Our staff devoted a great deal of time to
researching what people over 50 want and need most. They then identified service providers who understand these insights, managed relationships with providers and provided quality control over the AARP-branded products and services offered by providers
to ensure good value and positive member experiences.
Our top priority is to help foster positive social change through market innovation and
leadership—a particularly important goal in today’s tough economic climate.
If AARP Services is to be seen as consumers’ champion in the marketplace, we must
present a product or service line that offers consistent, uncompromising quality and
value for 50+ consumers. This means financial, health care or lifestyle offerings that
yield solutions to everyday problems, and a total value proposition that can be trusted
at every turn.
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We learned that loyalty follows quality and customer satisfaction. More than ever, it is
both the quality of what AARP-endorsed products and services make available and the
integrity that backs it up that matter. And at the end of the day, it’s all about helping millions of 50+ Americans live life to the fullest.
An emerging area of concern is how to meet the needs of millions of older people who
are cut off from financial services—either because they don’t have a traditional checking
or savings account, or because they still rely on alternative financial institutions like
payday lenders or check-cashing services. After research by AARP in 2010 illuminated
the extent of this problem for 50+ Americans—and noted the disproportionate impact
on African Americans and Hispanics—the ASI Board moved to change the game.
Working with a provider, we helped lay the groundwork for development of a pre-paid
debit card program that will help increase financial security among older, lower-income
households.
Our way forward at AARP Services is to keep on listening. Getting to know those we
have the opportunity to serve enables us to make their lives easier, their communities
healthier and their dreams a little closer to being realized. AARP Services sees a future
filled with unlimited possibility and opportunity for people over 50. On behalf of the ASI
Board, we are honored to be part of that future.
