The prospect of retiring from work is welcomed by many. The opportunity to spend your days as you want with a more relaxed pace of life is undeniably attractive. While some people plan for their retirement with hobbies and family to keep them occupied, for others it comes as a more abrupt change of life.
Whatever the expectation of retirement might be, many don’t anticipate how complete the change is. The routine and social interaction of work, if not replaced, can take a toll on your mental health. Social withdrawal and loneliness affects millions at various stages of their retirement. And if the pension doesn’t cover all your needs, financial difficulties may arise.
Opportunities
Different ways of working and opportunities to work from home at a pace to suit you means that it is easier than ever to retire at whatever age you choose. If money isn’t a problem there are plenty of options to explore for an enjoyable and exciting retirement.
The gig economy
The gig economy is the name given to define an economy that relies on freelance work or short term contracts. Freelance work used to be limited to certain fields such as bookkeeping and business consulting. While the usual professional services are still in demand more and more opportunities have become available.
Today there are opportunities to work on a short contracted basis across many industry and career fields. If you have a specific skill and plenty of valuable experience gained through work or hobbies, all the better. You could consider training for a career field or you might choose from a range of lower skilled options.
Whatever you choose, you’re the boss. You choose how much work you do, when you do the work and in many cases where.
Flexible career options for retirees
There are many career options for retirees which offer a degree of flexibility to suit the pace of life you’re after. While some are dependent on your skills and experience, others may offer opportunities to develop new skills and may be chosen for your hobbies and interests. Post details of the service you want to offer, with examples of any work, on website platforms such as Fiverr and Bark. If you don’t have any examples of work try to gain some on a voluntary basis first.
Freelance writing and editing
If you have a flair for writing and have experience in any professional field, you might consider writing a blog. Blogs written by people with expertise in a particular subject may be sort after by digital marketers, small businesses and anyone with a website to promote.
Other options include writing up compelling descriptions of products for online retailers or proof reading the work of others.
Photography and videography
If you’re creative with a camera why not try some photography or videography. With everything from portraiture to wildlife photography there are options to earn money. Stock photography relies on photographer contributions and YouTube has increased demand for professionally produced videos.
Consulting and coaching.
If you have experience in business, consulting might be an option. You would want to use any contacts gained in your specific area of work and be willing to network. Mentoring in business is also an option and there are professional bodies you could join and specialist agencies that might help market your services.
If you enjoy motivating others a motivational speaker might be an option and if you are a good listener with a positive outlook you might consider a coaching career. You may need to undertake some training but the options once trained include life coaching, fitness and sports coaching.
Art and craft
If you have a creative talent and interest in producing your own art or craft work there are options to sell via craft fares and online platforms such as Etsy.
Other creative work that does well in the gig economy is graphic design.
Other work
If you’re skills are more customer focused telephone customer service or sales work might be an option. Today such work can be carried out from home or within a work space if preferred.
A telephone answering service could be offered to local businesses to cover lunch times or holidays. You would need to advertise your services online and perhaps contact businesses directly to promote your services.
If you’re doing this alone you would also need to carefully coordinate your time so you’re not answering calls for more than one business at a time. The businesses themselves would simply need to redirect their business number to your phone and you would need to decide if you’re charging by the hour or on a per call basis.
Voluntary work
To many people voluntary work means volunteering for a local charity shop. While that will be a fulfilling option there are many other ways in which you can work on a voluntary basis. Some charities offer training for people interested in counselling and supporting people with mental health issues. Or would welcome those with skills in areas such as bookkeeping or organisational roles.
You could volunteer to join the board for a charity or public body or you could start your own club around a personal interest.
You might even choose to volunteer abroad with a gap year if you have the funds to do so.
Benefits of an active retirement
Engaging in work, hobbies and interests can lead to increased social connections, personal fulfillment and intellectual stimulation.
If you are concerned about your financial situation once retired or would like more holidays, such options might offer financial stability and independence to enjoy your retirement as you wish.
By undertaking training, working with others and exploring new interests you might also benefit from personal growth and development.
And finally…
As the population ages so the skills and experience of older workers grow in demand. Advances in technology provide opportunities for you as a retired person to take advantage of career options that might not have been open to you in the past. Getting the work life balance right to meet all your needs in retirement is important and the flexibility provided by technology and the gig economy also allows you to control your time and the terms by which you work.