Best Jobs For Retirees
Retirement isn’t always what it’s painted to be.
Sometimes, your savings can only go so far, and at other times, you’ve got too much idle time on your hands. It is not strange if you feel like you are almost drowning from boredom!
Luckily, you can bring back structure, liveliness, and more income into your life by taking another job after retirement. The good news is there are plenty of jobs with flexible hours, and you can even opt for remote work if that appeals to you.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the best jobs for retirees, with average annual and hourly pay from Glassdoor, PayScale, ZipRecruiter, and Indeed.
But first, let’s consider why a second career may be right for you after retirement and whether it is legal to get a job after official retirement.
Reasons to Get Job after Retirement
There are various reasons seniors may have to come out of retirement, even if they don’t go back to working full-time.
Some of the common reasons include:
Financial Reasons
Finance is one of the top reasons for many retirees to continue work after retirement. Your retirement savings may not be enough to cover your living expenses.
Persistent deflating interest rates can negatively impact your investments and eat into your spending money. It makes a lot of sense to get a job if you are in this shoe.
Quest for Fulfillment
Many seniors want to continue working after retirement because of the sense of fulfillment working provides. Learning new things, meeting new people, interacting with coworkers, clients, and customers can be both mentally stimulating and emotionally rewarding.
Also, working gives many retirees a sense of belonging to a group. The socialization and companionship provided in a work environment help them to thrive.
Employers Want Reliable and Loyal Workers
Companies typically look for employees that are skilled, loyal, reliable, and highly diligent. These traits, which are common among seniors, save employers lots of money on training inexperienced employees who are mostly younger workers.
This is one of the reasons there are many job openings for retirees in the temporary staffing industry. Many companies have mentoring programs where younger employees are paired with veterans to understudy and learn from their wealth of experience.
Delaying Social Security Benefits
Social security benefit amounts are usually not enough to cover monthly expenses for many retirees.
To increase the amount they can receive, many seniors opt to work for a few more years. This will delay receiving benefits while the amount they are due to receive will continue to increase by the year. If you are active after retirement, you may want to continue working to delay receiving your social security benefits.
Are There Legal Limitations?
In most cases, you can work and still receive a pension at the same time, even if you are officially retired. However, if you continue to work for your old employee, your employment status must be on a contract or part-time basis.
Seniors who wish to continue working full-time after retirement can still receive a pension if they take on jobs from a different employer.
In general, working while retired does not affect your social security benefits, provided you have attained the full retirement age of 67 years (for those born in 1960 or after) or 66 years and two months (for those born in 1955).
The benefits will be reduced for those who retire before reaching the full retirement age and are earning more than certain amounts.
Things to Keep in Mind When Working In Senior Years
You’ve spent most of your active working years toiling for money, so going back to work in retirement shouldn’t be all about money.
Keeping your mind sharp and body active should rank high among the reasons you’re taking on a new job. Think about how fulfilling a job is and whether you enjoy doing it.
In some cases, this may mean stepping outside what you did in the past. But whether you want to pick up from the exact place you left off, it is usually a great idea to keep an open mind about new opportunities.
While the jobs for retirees listed in this article are all great, you will be better off with options that suit your personality, interest, and lifestyle. If possible, opt for jobs with flexible schedules that allow you to tailor the working hours to fit the lifestyle of a retiree.
For most retirees looking to re-enter the workforce, a more ideal option would be to find seasonal, temporary, part-time, or freelance jobs as opposed to full-time jobs.
How Long Should You Work Per Week as a Retiree?
You are still officially retired if you work less than 10 hours a week.
Self-employed seniors who work more than 45 hours in a month are not considered retired. Those who work between 15 to 45 hours per month in jobs that don’t require a lot of skills are considered officially retired.
Best Jobs for Retired People
Take a few minutes to review the following suitable jobs for retirees to find something that best suits your interest and lifestyle.
1. Hotel Concierge
A job as a concierge at a hotel is best suited to retirees who live in a town they know so very well. You can help hotel guests turn their visits into pleasant memories by assisting them in booking hotels, making restaurant reservations, and making arrangements for spa services.
Hotel concierges also help coordinate porter services, booking transportation, and recommending nightlife hot spots, such as cinemas, bars, concerts, or nightclubs for guests who enjoy late evening entertainments.
If you enjoy meeting and working with new people, you’ll love working as a concierge. The job offers flexible hours, which suits the lifestyle of many retirees. However, you may need to work weekends in some establishments.
How much can be made?
ZipRecruiter puts the national average salary for a hotel concierge at $34,120 per year, with an hourly wage of $16 per hour.
2. Delivery Driver
If you know your way around town, but don’t fancy the idea of working in a hotel setting, you could consider a job as a delivery driver. Of course, you should already know how to drive and enjoy doing so, too!
For retirees who own their own cars, signing up with companies, such as Lyft or Uber, is a great way to work on your own schedule. If you don’t have a car or prefer to work for a delivery company, consider joining Amazon or UPS. You can also opt for a job as a school bus driver if you enjoy being around kids.
How much can be made?
Delivery drivers earn an average of $16.76 per hour, as reported by Indeed. They can also make up to $50 in tips per day.
3. Pet Sitter
Consider turning your love for animals into starting a pet sitting business. This is a type of business you can do, even if you don’t have an MBA!
There are a few different ways you could go about being a pet sitter. Talk to your neighbors or friends and see if they need the services of a pet sitter. Find pet owners who are still actively working. They will likely need someone to keep an eye on their animal companions when they are at work or on vacation.
Alternatively, you can search for companies that provide animal care and work for them. This is a less-daunting route for retirees who dread the idea of setting up even the simplest type of business.
A local animal shelter is another good place you may want to volunteer your services. This option is great for retirees who don’t really want to work for the money but just for the satisfaction of giving back meaningfully to their communities.
In few cases, though, animal shelters hire paid employees, so you can still earn some dollars for your time if that’s what you want.
How much can be made?
According to Indeed, pet sitters in the United States make an average base wage of $12.20 per hour.
4. Substitute Teacher
Think you have the skills to effectively manage a classroom?
You may want to consider a substitute teacher’s job. Many schools look to hire substitute teachers that can stand in for their regular teachers.
Typically, you will be responsible for the students and the classroom anywhere from a day to an entire academic year, depending on the type of placement. Also, the job offers flexible working hours, so you can choose whether to work with several schools, taking on assignments from elementary, middle, junior, and high schools.
Obviously, you should be able to teach a wide range of grade levels if you want to put a significant number of work hours into managing and possibly teaching different classes.
How much can be made?
You can earn an average of $30,731 per year working as a substitute teacher. Indeed puts the average hourly wage at $15.04 per hour.
5. Retail Jobs
A retail job, particularly holiday season work, is one of the best jobs for retirees who don’t want to commit to a long-term position. Retail usually have job openings during the holiday seasons, so it shouldn’t be difficult to land a temporary job.
Greeting customers, answering their questions, and assisting customers as they shop are some of the primary duties of a retail sales associate.
One of the good things about seasonal jobs is that you can schedule your work hours to suit your availability.
How much can be made?
According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for retail workers is $23,601 per year or $11 per hour. However, wage varies depending on the actual retail position.
6. Freelance Writer
Seniors with a passion for writing can venture into freelance writing, providing services to several clients. You can choose to work with individuals, corporate organizations, or media agencies.
You can write about topics that you’re passionate about, or focus on writing about your area of expertise. For example, if you are a retired doctor with a flair for creative writing, you could piece together fictional materials (books or articles) that touch on a few medical issues.
Whether you choose to write fiction or non-fiction, you need to master conventional spelling and effective use of grammar. Thankfully, there are many online tools available to help you churn out captivating and page-turning materials.
The beauty of freelance writing is the flexible work schedule. You can choose to do your writing late at night, wee hours, or during the day – whatever works for you. However, this type of job usually has strict deadlines when you must turn in projects.
Remember to get regular exercise if you opt for freelance writing. Sitting for long hours when you write can take a toll on your health if you forget to get some basic workout.
How much can be made?
The average base salary for freelance writers is $40,268 per year, as reported by PayScale. Of course, your location and the type of writing you do (technical, business, instructional, ghostwriting, etc) can influence your pay.
7. Babysitter
Good with kids? Consider a part-time job babysitting other people’s kids.
This is one of the most less stressful jobs for retirees, as it usually doesn’t require any tedious work. In many cases, you will only need to keep an eye on young children when their parents are on date night, vacation, or at work.
The job of babysitting can be at a family’s home or a community center and other facilities where babysitting services are offered.
While this job is dominated by females, a few men take on this role, too, especially with those lots of experience around children.
How much can be made?
Earnings vary widely by location, but Glassdoor reports that babysitters earn an average of $14 per hour and $40,418 per year as average base salary.
8. Event Staff
Seniors who enjoy arts, theater, or music can consider signing up as event staff and get paid to help out at various concert venues, theaters, festivals, and performing art centers.
Event staff can also assist at corporate public events, such as business meetings, seminars, conferences, and meetings of professional associations.
Essentially, your work as an event staffer is to work the doors, checking in attendees, providing first aid when the need arises, and answer questions.
One of the perks of this job is attending shows for free or at a highly discounted price. Plus, it is not full-time employment, making it an excellent option for seniors looking to work seasonal jobs.
How much can be made?
ZipRecruiter puts the national average salary for event staff at $27,000 per year or $13 per hour. This is not bad considering it is usually a temporary job.
9. Bookkeeper
Retirees with a knack for numbers may as well turn that passion into creating and maintaining financial records for small firms. As a bookkeeper, your primary duty includes issuing invoices to customers and payments to suppliers.
Depending on where you find part-time employment, you may be required to produce various financial reports and reconcile bank statements and other third-party records.
Bookkeepers typically are not saddled with the extra responsibility of supervising lower-level accounting clerks. That means less responsibility for the retiree who wants to serve in this position.
How much can be made?
At $18 per hour as reported by PayScale, bookkeeping may not rank as one of the highest paying jobs for retirees, but that’s a fairly decent amount for a part-time job.
10. Translator
The ability to write or speak another language is a huge asset. There are many sectors you can render your translation services, including government, business, and tourism.
You can choose to work as a freelancer, working from the comfort of your home. If you prefer a steady paycheck, you can find employment in any of the sectors where translators are in high demand.
How much can be made?
According to Indeed, translators earn about $17 per hour in the United States. This comes up to an average base salary of $46,075 per year, which is not bad for a freelance job working from home.
11. Real Estate Agent
With an estimated worth of over $4.5 trillion, the commercial real estate market offers plenty to explore. Little wonder many seniors tend to launch a second career in the real estate industry.
As a real estate agent, your primary duty is to help clients sell, buy, and rent properties. You will also provide guidance to clients throughout the buying and selling process.
You get to set your own work hours, although you will typically tailor it to meet the schedule of your clients. You earn commissions from the sales of properties. To increase your earnings, you will need to network and advertise, especially if you are working as a self-employed agent.
How much can be made?
Glassdoor reports that the national average base pay for real estate agents is $67,173 per year. While there is no additional cash compensation reported for this role, it is one of the highly lucrative jobs for retirees.
12. Office Manager
Seniors with experience in administrative roles may want to take on the job of an office manager.
What you are expected to do will vary depending on where you work, but the typical duties of an office manager involve planning, directing, and coordinating administrative services of the organization where they work.
There are plenty of opportunities for this position in nearly all industries. However, the competition is stiff, so you will need to bring on your A-game if you want to get in.
If you have worked in this or a similar position before, perhaps an easier way to find employment is to speak with your former employer about filling the position on a part-time basis.
How much can be made?
Glassdoor says office managers can earn an average base pay of $46,540 per year.
13. Tax Preparer
Looking for a seasonal job?
Consider working as a part-time tax preparer. Your job is to prepare taxes for clients and submit them to the government.
You will find part-time positions usually between January and April when tax companies hire extra hands to fill temporary positions.
The good thing about this job is that you don’t have to be a professional accountant to prepare taxes. If this is a path you would like to explore, you could take a tax preparation course to understand the basics and get the required skills to get hired.
How much can be made?
These professionals earn an average hourly wage of $14 per hour, as seen on PayScale. Those who work all year round can make $46,557 per year on average.
14. Freelance Consultant
Lastly, retirees can opt to pursue a second career doing what they do best as freelance consultants.
This is one of the best jobs for retirees because, in many cases, you will simply offer consulting services in the field where you have spent several years working before retirement.
In other words, freelance consulting is not limited to specific fields – you can consult in just about every industry, as long as you have vast knowledge in that area.
Typically, your work as a freelance consultant includes talking with clients, helping them to analyze data, and presenting them with solutions that meet their needs.
How much can be made?
Indeed reports that freelance consultants earn an average of $24.82 per hour and an average of $27,428 per year in commissions.
Conclusion
It can be a bit tricky trying to land an entirely new job after your 60s. However, some companies tend to favor veterans and older workers. Apparently, your work skills didn’t magically disappear after retirement.
You can find fulfillment by working part-time, especially if money isn’t the primary reason for working in retirement. While you can stick to roles related to your old job, it may be refreshing to try something entirely different from what you’ve spent a significant part of your adult life doing.
Resources:
- finder.com.au
- findlaw.com
- investopedia.com
- ssa.gov
- talentlyft.com
- indeed.com
- alleducationschools.com
- homecareassistancephiladelphia.com
- careerexplorer.com
- money.usnews.com
- reportlinker.com
