ZAMBIA EXPLAINS
# OnlyFans Is My Retirement Plan!
Why Some Grandmothers in the West Are Turning to Adult Content While Others in Zambia Struggle to Survive
Article by Rodgers Mangwela | KASONDE24
Imagine reaching the age when you should be enjoying the rewards of a lifetime of hard work, only to discover that retirement has brought you more uncertainty than peace. While some older women spend their days worrying about food, medicine and shelter, others are exploring unconventional ways to make money online, challenging society's expectations of what a grandmother should do.
In Zambia, particularly in communities where formal employment opportunities and reliable retirement benefits are limited, some elderly women turn to collecting plastic bottles, crushing stones and sorting through waste to earn a little money. Thousands of kilometres away, a different retirement story is attracting attention: a 72-year-old great-grandmother who has reportedly turned adult content creation into a business venture.
Her story raises uncomfortable but important questions about money, ageing, personal choices and the meaning of a dignified retirement.
And for a grandmother in Katondo, Kabwe, the idea of making adult content to finance her golden years might seem worlds apart from the daily struggle to put food on the table.
Meet the 72-Year-Old Great-Grandmother Who Chose an Unusual Retirement Plan
According to a report published by TMZ on 28 October 2026, DD White, a 72-year-old great-grandmother of eight, has embraced adult content creation as a source of income during retirement.
White reportedly began producing intimate content with her husband for personal enjoyment. What started as a private activity gradually developed into a commercial opportunity after their material attracted attention online.
The couple eventually established their own adult content platform and launched a profile on OnlyFans, a subscription-based service that allows creators to earn money by providing exclusive content to paying subscribers.
Before entering this phase of her life, White had been a co-founder of a manufacturing company. She and her husband, who have reportedly been married for 40 years, had also explored a swinging lifestyle earlier in their relationship before returning to it when their children and grandchildren were older.
TMZ reports that White has attracted nearly 35,000 Instagram followers and received four AVN Award nominations.
Her experience demonstrates how some people are finding unconventional ways to generate income through digital platforms, even in their seventies.
However, her story should not be mistaken for evidence that every creator on OnlyFans earns a comfortable living. Her financial success has not been independently established by the report, and the income of online creators can vary considerably.
Source: TMZ's report on DD White.
Zambia's Grandmothers Face a Different Retirement Reality
Now, let us bring the conversation home to Zambia.
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READ MOREPicture an elderly woman in Kabwe who spent much of her life raising children, supporting a household and working wherever an opportunity presented itself. Perhaps she sold vegetables at the market, worked as a domestic worker or survived on small-scale farming.
As the years passed, her physical strength declined, but her financial responsibilities did not necessarily disappear.
If she has no reliable pension, savings, rental property or adult children capable of supporting her, retirement can become a daily struggle rather than a reward.
In communities such as Katondo, the sight of older people searching for recyclable materials, performing casual labour or breaking stones for income reflects the difficult choices people may face when they have few alternatives.
These examples are not intended to suggest that every elderly Zambian lives in poverty or that every woman collecting plastic bottles failed to plan for retirement. Some people experience hardship because of circumstances beyond their control, including illness, family responsibilities, unemployment and the rising cost of living.
Nevertheless, the contrast is striking.
One woman has found an online market willing to pay for content that challenges conventional expectations about age and sexuality. Another may spend an entire day performing exhausting physical work for a relatively small amount of money.
The difference is not necessarily ambition. It may be access to technology, financial resources, markets and opportunities.
Is OnlyFans a Retirement Strategy or a Risky Business?
OnlyFans is part of a wider digital economy in which people can sell subscriptions, entertainment and exclusive material directly to audiences.
For some creators, this arrangement offers greater control over their work than traditional employment. They may choose their content, establish their prices and communicate directly with paying subscribers.
But the business model comes with risks.
Creators need to attract and retain customers, market their profiles and compete for attention in a crowded online environment. Earnings are not guaranteed, and the costs of producing and promoting content can reduce profits.
There are also concerns about privacy, reputational damage, unauthorised distribution of intimate material and the possibility that content shared online may remain accessible long after a creator decides to stop working.
For older women, these considerations may be particularly important when balancing financial independence against family relationships, personal privacy and long-term security.
Therefore, while White's experience may be unusual and commercially interesting, it would be misleading to present adult content creation as a dependable retirement plan for everyone.
The lesson is not that Zambian grandmothers should imitate her choices. It is that the digital economy is creating opportunities that previous generations might never have imagined.
What Can Zambia Learn From This Unusual Story?
The most valuable lesson is not about nudity or controversy. It is about the importance of preparing financially for old age.
In Zambia, retirement planning is often discussed as though it applies only to civil servants and formally employed people who contribute to pension schemes. Yet teachers, marketeers, farmers, musicians, domestic workers, small-business owners and other self-employed people also need a strategy for their later years.
Not everyone can afford to save large sums of money. However, starting with small, consistent steps can help build a more secure future.
A person who runs a small business might gradually invest profits in productive assets. A farmer could explore ways to improve productivity or diversify income. Someone with digital skills might develop a website, sell educational resources, provide services online or build a sustainable creative business.
For musicians and writers, intellectual property can also become an asset. Songs, books and other creative works may generate income beyond the period in which they were originally produced, although royalties and sales are never guaranteed.
The objective should be to develop multiple sources of income rather than depend entirely on one job, one customer or one opportunity.
Financial education should also begin early. Young people need to understand savings, budgeting, debt, investment risks and the difference between earning money and building lasting financial security.
For people approaching retirement, reviewing existing savings, understanding pension entitlements and seeking trustworthy financial advice can help identify practical options.
Why Age Should Not Automatically Mean Financial Dependence
Society often expects grandmothers to occupy familiar roles: caring for grandchildren, advising younger generations and preserving family traditions.
There is nothing wrong with those expectations when they reflect personal choice. Problems arise when society assumes that older people should stop pursuing opportunities, making decisions or exploring new ways to support themselves.
White's story challenges that assumption, even if her chosen business would be unacceptable to some communities.
A woman's age does not erase her individuality, ambitions or right to make decisions about her life. Equally, financial hardship should not force elderly people into dangerous, degrading or exploitative working conditions.
The conversation must therefore go beyond judging what an older woman chooses to do. It should also examine why people reach retirement without enough resources to live comfortably.
Governments, employers, families and communities all have roles to play in strengthening retirement security and protecting older people from poverty.
Would a Grandmother in Katondo Ever Choose OnlyFans?
Imagine discussing this story in a neighbourhood in Katondo, Kabwe.
Some people might laugh at the headline. Others might condemn the idea on moral or religious grounds. Some might simply wonder how an elderly woman could earn money from an activity that remains taboo in many African communities.
Those reactions would reflect the different cultural values through which people understand ageing, sexuality, family responsibility and respectable work.
But beneath the shock lies a more universal question: what happens when people grow old without enough money to support themselves?
In one part of the world, a woman may discover that a digital audience is willing to pay for content she chooses to produce. In another, an elderly woman may have little choice but to exchange physical labour for a small daily income.
Neither situation tells the whole story of retirement in the West or Africa. There are financially secure retirees in Zambia and struggling pensioners in wealthy countries. There are also successful digital entrepreneurs whose earnings have little to do with adult content.
The real divide is not simply between Africa and the West. It is between people who have access to viable opportunities and those whose circumstances leave them with very few choices.
The Final Word: Retirement Should Be a Reward, Not a Survival Battle
The story of DD White may provoke laughter, outrage or curiosity, but its deeper significance lies in what it reveals about the changing world of work.
The internet has opened markets that allow people to turn skills, creativity, knowledge and, in some cases, adult content into commercial opportunities. Yet digital entrepreneurship is not a guaranteed path to wealth, and not every business model suits every individual or community.
For Zambia, the more important question is how to help people build financial security before their working years come to an end.
A grandmother in Katondo should not have to spend her final years crushing stones simply because she lacks a pension or another dependable source of income. Nor should any elderly person feel that there is no alternative to physically exhausting work just to afford basic necessities.
Retirement planning must become a practical conversation in homes, schools, workplaces, churches and business communities.
Whether someone chooses farming, property, creative work, online business or a traditional pension, the goal remains the same: to reach old age with dignity, independence and a reasonable measure of financial peace.
After all, the real retirement dream should not be about whether a grandmother can make money from OnlyFans.
It should be about ensuring that every grandmother, whether in New York or Katondo, can grow old without having to fight every day for survival.
Published by KASONDE24
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