Community Rallies Round McDonald's Worker, 84, Struggling To Pay His Bills

A viral post about an 84-year-old working at McDonald's to help pay his bills because "Social Security is barely doing anything for him" has seen over $74,100 raised on GoFundMe for the elderly employee.

The clip posted on TikTok, where it received 2.6 million views at the time of this writing, was shared by his colleague Bri'Anna Lovato (TikTok user @lovbrizzie73), who started a GoFundMe account to help raise money for him to "retire and pay off his house."

According to the GoFundMe post, the 84-year-old works full time on "long shifts, carrying stuff back and forth [through] the store. The dishes at McDonald's are awful and Hue is constantly doing them, as well. I'm more than sure this doesn't do too well for him physically or mentally...."

Social Security is a U.S. federal government program providing benefits to those who are retired, have disabilities or are the surviving spouse/children of a worker who has died.

Some can also receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which are also made to those 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial qualifications (having "limited income" and "limited resources") and other requirements, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Earlier this year in October, the SSA announced Social Security and SSI benefits for around 70 million Americans would go up by 8.7 percent from January 2023, which amounts to an average increase of around $140 per month.

Those who get SSI benefits will receive their January payment on December 30, 2022.

However, the latest increase is "not enough to cover the true cost of aging," the National Council on Aging (NCOA), a nonprofit advocating for older Americans, said in a statement in October. One in four of those on Social Security depend on it for 90 percent of their income, according to the NCOA.

Ramsey Alwin, the president and CEO of the NCOA, said: "While this increase is historic and needed, it is also inadequate for the millions of older Americans who face skyrocketing housing and health care costs across the country. People age 65+ are the only group for which poverty increased last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau."

A December 2018 study by the Pew Research Center found that Americans are "pessimistic about the financial health of older Americans."

Most people believe that around 30 years from now, those 65 and older will be "less prepared for retirement than their counterparts today." Around 83 percent predict that most people will have to work into their 70s in order to afford to retire, according to the study.

The latest viral video, which shows the senior employee named Hue working in a kitchen of the fast food chain, was posted with a caption that read: "He told me Social Security is barely doing anything for him, so he works here to pay his bills. They are constantly making him carry stuff, clean, and do the dishes, etc [teary-eyed sad face emoji].

"Please help him out and share this video!! If 200,000 people saw this, all it would take is just a dollar from every person [red heart emoji] #GoFundMe #work #retirement #payoffmortgage #sad #help #elderly #retire #fyp #xycba #xyzbca #nomorework."

Several users shared messages of support for Hue on TikTok and GoFundMe.

In a comment that received 5,586 likes, user Smith's Blueberries wrote: "So dedicated! He has done his time! He deserves to keep busy for pleasure not pennies! Let's boost this!!"

User airmac said: "You're so sweet for doing this [red heart emoji] nobody should be working at 84 let's get this man retired!!!," while user52497030895 wrote: "omg [oh my god] so sad. he should be relaxing now."

Brieanne Colville wrote on GoFundMe: "Wishing you a peaceful and well deserved retirement!"

GoFundMe users Keira Hamalian wrote: "Hue shouldn't be working," while Alina Estrada said: "This man should be living his best life. God bless."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster, the SSA and McDonald's for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

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