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At Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory in Clinton, Conn., the senior discount kicks in at the half-century mark. Every Tuesday, the confectioner gives a 10 percent discount to customers who are age 50 or older.
“It’s called the 50-plus shopper perks,” a store owner said.
If you’re 50 and hoping for a discount on something more substantial, such as breakfast at Denny’s, bring the large-print version of “War and Peace” while you wait: You must be at least 55 to order from the restaurant chain’s senior menu.
Confused?
We may be living longer – Al Roker seems to take forever on the “Today” show to name everyone turning 100 or older on any given day. But when it comes to senior discounts, the age limit keeps dropping.
These days, senior discounts, like adult acne or bursitis, can kick in unexpectedly at any age past 50.
So who’s a senior, and who’s tottering on the edge? It all depends, so to speak.
AARP, for one, sets the mark at 50, “the golden age … the second half of life,” said Jennifer Millea, spokeswoman for AARP Connecticut.
But it wasn’t always that way.
In 1984 the senior advocacy group lowered the age of majority from 55 to 50.
Nationwide, AARP boasts 40 million members.
At Denny’s, which was founded in 1953, customers receive the senior discount and the opportunity to order from the senior menu after they reach 55; while the prices are lower, the portions are smaller.
The policy has been in place for so long that Denny’s officials can’t recall why the chain settled on that age.
“This has been in place for quite some time, so we wouldn’t be able to speak to a rationale,” said Lainey Johnson, a Denny’s spokeswoman.
Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets rolls out the “50 Plus Shopper Perks” on Tuesdays and offers 10 percent off the entire purchase at select stores, including Fuzziwig’s.
“We use 50 because that’s what AARP uses. It’s an industry standard. It seems to be a good baseline,” said Robyn Rifkin, general manager at Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets, a division of Simon Property Group.
Fast-forward 50 years: Turning 100 might usher in a whole new level of freebies. In 2008, a Wisconsin tailor gave a longtime customer a free houndstooth suit on his 100th birthday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
