Real Life Retirement:  what real people are doing after age 55 

 

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Best Retiree Job: Do What You Did Before

One type of work is clearly the best for any retiree:  become a consultant or freelance or instructor/teacher using the skills and knowledge you already have plus any special education or licensing your field requires. It is the Number One way you can begin to earn income to supplement Social Security without spending time acquiring a new skill set.    

The Number Two way is to apply your current real life skills to another field where demand for employees is high, such as Health Care.

 

Going into an altogether new career, acquiring new skills, getting additional education and/or licensing--all of that takes time and money.  If you are thinking seriously about changing your career after retiring from your primary employment, do the math!  It may turn out that the costs to launch yourself into a new career outweigh the amount of money you will make.   

If, nonetheless, you want to follow a new career track, consider freelancing or consulting using your previous skill set while getting the education and training you need for your new employment.

And keep in mind that if you start collecting Social Security at age 62 there is a limit on the amount of money you can earn each year prior to your full retirement year before the Social Security Administration starts taking part of your Social Security back.  For 2011 that income limit is $14,160. 

How do you find consulting or freelance assignments?  
Here are five easy steps. For more detailed information click here.

1.  Look official.  Get business cards and your own website. 

2.  Ask your boss or the HR department if they could use your services part time after your retirement date.  Your old boss may be your new "best friend", employing you part time.

3.  Call the competition.  Next, call the companies that compete with the one you are leaving.  They may jump at the chance to employ you, even part time. 

4.  Tell everyone else. Then call everyone you know in your field and let them know that you are setting up a consulting/freelance business.  
A Real Life Retirement: 

Susan worked as a secretary in high-powered law firms in Los Angeles all her life.  She was forced out of her job in her late fifties.  It was an ugly situation, but she managed to turn it around.  All it took was a few phone calls and she was back to work on her own from her home, doing contract assignments for other big law firms.  Fortunately, she was well-known at several other law firms, so they had confidence that she would complete the work satisfactorily and on time.  She found that she had ample income and plenty of time for her passion: gardening.  She also earned some extra cash from gardening.

5.  Keep at it.  For 6 practical tips about building and sustaining your new freelance or consulting business click here.

Important:  You should do all these steps at the time you are retiring.  Do not  wait even a few months to make the phone calls.  You want to be a "Hot Property" -- not yesterday's news.   And it may take some time for the first assignments to come in.

Other great retirement jobs using your current knowledge:

Teach at college/university       Teach children or adults

Teach at trade schools          

We also have suggestions for earning extra cash and pocket money using your hobbies and personal interests.    

About Temp Agencies:  While Temp Agencies have their place, do NOT attempt to build a consulting business by going through a Temporary Employment Agency.  They take a big cut off the top of any fee a company pays, leaving you with a much smaller piece of the pie.  It's much better for you to contact companies directly--particularly companies where you are known--and keep the whole big juicy pie to yourself!  

NOTE:  All names on this site have been changed to protect individual privacy.  
The stories are real, the names are not. 



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Turn your hobbies into extra cash.
 

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