Best Jobs for Retirees

The concept of retirement, like the working world those who enter this stage are leaving behind is constantly evolving. As of this writing, the dictionary defines it as the act of retiring or of leaving one’s job, career or occupation permanently usually because of age.

Yet if you ask the average retiree today, retirement is not usually the end of work, but rather the end of a phase of work. Many people go on to second and sometimes even third and fourth careers. For example, military, police, firefighters, public workers like mailmen, and others get into a field where once they reach a set benchmark of time, say 30 years they are allowed and even sometimes required to retire. Now if someone goes into the armed services at 18, 30 years later they’re only 48, nearly twenty years removed from the classic retirement age of 65.

Furthermore, even those who do take one-career to the finish line are retiring later and looking for work (a second career) to supplement their income in those years. This article focuses on the best jobs for retirees, regardless of the path they’ve taken to that stage of life.

That said, one stat that we found summarized this mindset shift comes to us courtesy of US News. Sixty percent of workers over 60 plan to look for a second job post retirement. That means there are a lot of people looking for work. In fact, the US just recently set a record for the largest number of workers 65 and over ever.

Grocery Stores & Retail

These jobs are great for people who perhaps retired from blue collar jobs or jobs in retail. They also tend to appeal to those who enjoy not being behind a desk all day and like interacting with customers and other people. The pay may not be the best, floating around or just above minimum wages in most cases, however, if it’s a mere supplement to your retirement income that may not be an issue. For those looking to make a little more money in this space, companies like ALDI and Hobby Lobby and known to offer starting pay far in excess of industry standard, often as high as $15-$18 an hour.

Bookkeeping

For those coming from a financial background, this is a great direction to go in. As the subscription economy continue to blossom and evolve, opportunities for flexible part-time work continue to multiply. Companies like Bench.co employ bookkeepers to do the books for all their clients, small and mid-sized businesses across the US. Companies pay Bench a monthly fee starting at $125 and bench through a network of service providers does their bookkeeping.

Tax Preparation

Similar to the previous item, those with accounting, legal or financial backgrounds may find this type of work rewarding as a second career in retirement. Companies like HR Block, Turbo Tax and Jackson Hewitt routinely hire scores of tax preparers for the annual tax season. Many of these jobs are seasonal, but some can be full-time and year-round.

Administrative Assistant

Executives and others constantly need help with planning and managing their daily responsibilities. From maintaining their daily calendars to doing data entry and follow-up with a client, internal and partner emails, the work of a savvy and experienced professional in this role is crucial to executive success. Many executives prefer working with an older worker in this role due precisely to their experience. Generally, some kind of management or office experience is the background of those entering this space.

Remote Call-Center Rep

One of the newer opportunities for retirees and others alike are call-center jobs. Many now are even available on a work-from-home flex schedule basis through companies like Arise. Jobs are generally customer service focused, sometimes sales or tech support, and are for major brands like Apple, Disney, Comcast, Carnival Cruise Line and others. Arise CSPs, as they’re known, work through either their own company or that of an Arise certified IBO (Independent Business Owner). CSP’s are paid directly by their IBO at the rate (generally $10-$12 an hour) set by the client for all hours worked within a given pay period. The IBO takes a small percentage and the rest goes to the CSP. Arise pays all its IBOS (who then pay the CSPs under them) on the 1st and 15th of each month.