A person who works at Walmart has to be 16 years old. This person could start with a pay of as little as $14 an hour. At the other end of the spectrum are at least several Walmart employees over 80. It is not clear what they make. (These companies have the worst reputations.)
One over-80 Walmart employee recently received some media attention, He is 82 and has been in the Navy. By some miracle, his presence on TikTok has allowed him to make enough money to retire.
While Walmart does not have many workers over 80, they are less rare than hen’s teeth. For good or ill, Walmart allows a small number of people this age to work daily.
No one has asked the question, which has been answered to any satisfaction, why people of 80 would work at all. The answer is that they need the money.
The Walmart story is a microcosm of a problem across America. People retire without savings or with very little money. They cannot live on Social Security, which often pays less than $2,000 a month before taxes. This sum has to cover at least food, housing, transportation and medical expenses. A number of these people are not taken in by family and friends, so they are completely on their own to make a living. Due to these problems, they will work for as many years as possible. From this standpoint, it is lucky that Walmart exists, even if it is just barely.
The Walmart stories get confirmed every day. People who are customers at other retailers and fast-food establishments come into contact with workers who are over 70, 75 and even 80. Most made the mistake of plans that have caused them to outlive their retirement nest eggs or did not have one,
The fact of the matter is that more and more Americans will work their entire adulthoods. Demographers keep reminding the public that baby boomers are the fastest-growing segment of the population. While some of these may count themselves as fortunate, others probably do not.
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