Retirees often find they get bored or aren’t satisfied with not working. Fortunately, there are many part-time jobs for retirees to consider, allowing you to work on your terms while reducing the money you must take from your retirement accounts.
Let’s dive in.
Top 20 Part-Time Jobs for Retirees
The sky’s the limit for part-time jobs for retirees, whether you want to freelance or work a part-time job for a company. Here are the best part-time jobs for retirees in 2024.
- Drive for Uber or Lyft
- Deliver Food
- Shop for Groceries
- Turn Your Skills Into a Job
- Check Your Local Golf Course
- Watch Pets or Houses
- Work for Temp Agencies
- Offer Landscape or Gardening Services
- Ticket-Taker
- Work Part-Time in Your Industry
- Customer Service
- Work Retail
- Consider Seasonal Employment
- Drive for Amazon Flex
- Rent Extra Space
- Data Entry
- Be a Coach
- Rent Your Campsite
- Research
- Sales
1. Drive for Uber or Lyft
Ridesharing is a fun way to make money part-time while meeting new people. You’ll meet a variety of different people, learn things, and be able to help people who need rides.
To work as a rideshare driver for Uber or Lyft, you need only a reliable car and a valid driver’s license and insurance. You must also pass a background check and must not mind driving during busier times. You’ll earn a flat fee from the ridesharing driving service and keep 100% of the tips earned.
Rideshare drivers set their own hours, making themselves ‘active’ by turning the app on and accepting the ride requests they prefer. You’ll make the most money by working ‘peak hours’ when demand is the highest.
2. Deliver Food
If you prefer not to drive people, you can still freelance as a driver delivering food for services like DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub. The apps work similarly to Uber or Lyft, but instead of picking up people, you pick up pre-ordered food from restaurants and sometimes local convenience stores.
Like Uber or Lyft, you earn a flat fee plus keep 100% of customer tips. You’ll make the most money on weekend nights in most areas but may find higher demand during the lunch rush or weeknight dinners on certain days.
Check which app is the most popular in your area to increase your earnings as a freelance delivery driver.
3. Shop for Groceries
If you love shopping and helping people, you can also make money as a grocery delivery person. Apps like Instacart and Shipt make it easy to make money on your terms, working as few or as many hours as you want.
The difference with these apps is you must go into the store and shop the customer’s list. After checking out, you’ll deliver the food to the customer’s doorstep. You don’t have to pay for the orders; you receive a payment card from the company you work for upon approval, and like other gig-sharing apps, you may earn tips from your customers, which you keep.
4. Turn Your Skills Into a Job
If driving isn’t your thing, consider what you love to do and see if you can turn it into a job. For example, if you’re handy, you can offer your handyman skills on sites like TaskRabbit, helping people with little tasks around the house.
If you are crafty, you can start an Etsy shop and sell your goods, or if you have a teachable skill, you can make a course and sell it online on sites like Teachable.
5. Check Your Local Golf Course
If golfing is your passion, you may earn money driving the golf cart around or maintaining the golf course. Most local golf courses look for people who understand and are passionate about golf to work for them.
This is a great option if you work in an area where golf is only available for part of the year. You can work the golf season and then take the rest of the year off, enjoying your retirement.
6. Watch Pets or Houses
If you live in an area where many people work or travel, you can make money helping them out since you’re home more often.
Pet sitters can get paid to walk dogs or even watch them for long periods while their owners are away. The same is true for house sitting. You can make money helping watch homeowners’ property while they are away. They may pay you to check the mail, water plants, or just visit the house to ensure everything is good while they are gone.
You can advertise your services at local establishments or use sites like Rover or TrustedHousesitters to get more clients.
7. Work for Temp Agencies
If you want to work sporadically but don’t like working as a freelancer, consider partnering with a local or online temp agency. These agencies work with companies of all sizes and in many industries, providing temporary workers when they are short-handed or need more help during a busy season.
This is also a good way to test a company before taking a long-term position if you’re considering finding a part-time job at a local company.
8. Offer Landscape or Gardening Services
If you love spending time outdoors, consider landscape or gardening services. You can mow lawns, trim bushes, or design and plant gardens. You can also tend to the gardens all season if that’s your expertise.
This job is great for those looking for a creative outlet or retirees who move to a condo and miss having the land to tend to themselves.
9. Ticket-Taker
If you live in a busy area with stadiums or concert venues, you can get a part-time job for retirees collecting tickets or working as an usher. These jobs are great for retirees because they are only occasional. You’ll mostly work weekends, but not every weekend, giving you plenty of time off while allowing opportunities to make money and meet new people at your job.
10. Work Part-Time in Your Industry
Consider working part-time in your industry if you aren’t ready to call it quits on what you did full-time. You can work for a competitor to the company you once worked for or start your own gig and consult, offering your services part-time and on your own terms.
This is one of the best part-time jobs for retirees because it allows you to have closure more easily rather than abruptly leaving the industry.
11. Customer Service
Customer service jobs are a great opportunity if you love talking to people. You can do this over the phone from home using sites like FlexJobs to find a job or work part-time for local companies in person.
This is a great fit for the social butterfly who will miss daily interaction with co-workers. It gives you an outlet for your mind and a chance to meet new people and help others, making yourself feel useful in retirement.
12. Work Retail
If you want a traditional part-time job for retirees, check your local retailers for opportunities. You can make money working at grocery, clothing, or big box stores as a cashier, stocker, or even a greeter.
These jobs are a little more demanding because you’ll spend most of your time on your feet, so make sure it’s a good fit for you and that it’s something you’ll enjoy since you should be living your best life in your golden years!
13. Consider Seasonal Employment
Many companies hire seasonal employees to get through the busy times and then to decrease labor costs during slower times. You can find seasonal employment in the summer at local festivals, pools, and gardening centers, and in the winter at local stores that get busier around the holidays.
Seasonal employment offers the best of both worlds for retirees because you get to work a lot for a short time, and then enjoy the true benefits of retirement when you’re not working.
14. Drive for Amazon Flex
If you spend your time in retirement browsing Amazon, why not make money delivering for them rather than paying them? Amazon Flex drivers use their personal vehicles to deliver Amazon packages.
Unlike traditional gig-sharing jobs, you must sign up for ‘blocks’ with Amazon Flex. All this means is you promise to deliver the determined packages within that timeframe. It may take you less time than is allotted, but you earn the amount promised no matter how long it takes.
15. Rent Extra Space
If you have extra space in your home or to use as storage, consider renting it out and earning passive income. This is one of the best part-time jobs for retirees because it requires little to no effort, earning you passive income.
This works great if you have an extra room you can rent for storage or a vacation home you don’t use year-round and can rent to earn passive income while enjoying your retirement years. Airbnb and Neighbor are great apps to list your properties.
16. Data Entry
If you type fast and want a part-time job you can do from home without too much stress, consider a data entry job. All you need is the ability to type fast and accurately, and you can get a job helping small or large companies with their data entry needs.
If you want to freelance as a data entry specialist, create a profile on Fiverr to advertise your services to businesses worldwide.
17. Be a Coach
If you love sports, consider coaching your local sports teams. Park districts and local clubs are always in need of great coaches. Whether you work as the head coach or an assistant, it can be a fun way to give your time and earn some money.
Since sports aren’t year-round, you can work for a season and then enjoy some time off before the next season begins.
18. Rent Your Campsite
If you own land suitable for camping, you can make passive income by renting the land to campers throughout the year. Hipcamp is a popular site for listing your land and getting more renters. They include $1 million general liability insurance to give you peace of mind while earning income.
19. Research
Consider working as a researcher if you have great attention to detail and love finding solutions. You can find part-time jobs for retirees doing this or offer freelancing services, working on your own terms.
This works well for anyone with experience in healthcare, politics, legal matters, science, or technology.
20. Sales
People who can sell are always in high demand at local businesses and home-based opportunities. You can work part-time selling over the phone or in person. You can also find opportunities for direct sales and running your own business for companies like Pampered Chef or Mary Kay.
Benefits of Part-Time Jobs for Retirees
Part-time jobs for retirees offer many benefits, including:
- Exercise your mind: Retiring can shock the system and even make you bored. Without using your mind daily, it’s easy to become forgetful or even depressed. Working part-time lets you feel useful, exercises your mind, and allows you enough time to enjoy retirement.
- Create an income source: If you don’t want to rely on your retirement income alone, you can create another income source by working part-time. This makes your retirement income last longer and provides peace of mind.
- Allows closure: It can be difficult to stop working and doing what you love. Working part-time allows you to ease into retirement, so it’s not such a shock when you have more free time than you know what to do with on your hands.
Where Should Retirees Look For Part-Time Jobs?
There are many resources to find part-time jobs for retirees, including:
- Job boards like Indeed or Monster
- Retirement resources, like AARP
- Freelance apps like Fiverr or Upwork
- Gigsharing apps like Uber, Lyft, Instacart, DoorDash or Uber Eats
Frequently Asked Questions
Part-time jobs for retirees are a great opportunity for most people who aren’t quite ready to quit the rat race. Here are some popular questions people have about working part-time in retirement.
Is a Part-Time Job Worth It for Retirees?
No two people are the same, but most enjoy working part-time in retirement. Not only does it offer an income source, but it provides a social outlet and allows retirees to exercise their minds.
What’s a Good Monthly Average Income in Retirement?
A good rule of thumb is to have 80% of your pre-retirement income during retirement. The more money you bring in from a part-time job, the less you must take from your retirement accounts. This ensures your retirement funds will last longer, giving you peace of mind.
Can You Draw Social Security at 62 and Still Work?
You can draw Social Security at 62 and still work; however, the government will reduce your benefits accordingly if you earn more than the allowed annual limit. This is the case until you reach the full retirement age of 67.
How Much Can a Retired Person Earn Without Paying Taxes?
For tax year 2023 (file in 2024), you don’t have to file a tax return if your income is less than $15,700 if filing separately and $30,700 if married filing jointly.
Driver’s Take
If you’re looking for the best part-time job for retirees, rideshare and food delivery apps are great opportunities. They offer the best of both worlds, allowing you to make money on your own terms.
The only boss you have to answer to is yourself, and you leverage the large audience gig-sharing apps have, allowing you to make money and socialize while enjoying your golden years.
