Age-net Explores Options for Working from Home at Retirement Age
The current economic situation is taking its toll on everyone, and it means that many pensioners are choosing to extend their working careers slightly by working from home even once they have retired. It’s a great way to carry on earning but at your own pace. There is no need to push yourself too hard but it can also help to keep you occupied if you are finding the adjustment to retired life a bit more difficult than you expected. By working from home you can also dictate your own hours. You will have the opportunity to be your own boss and will be able to fit your work in around any social or other engagements you have.
Talk to your old employer
If you have recently retired, or are looking to retire soon, talk to your employer about working from home. You may find that there are some tasks which you can still carry on doing without going into the office every day and it can be the perfect way of gradually adjusting to life in retirement.
If your particular profession won’t allow for this then there is no need to worry. There are still plenty of things you can do to keep yourself occupied and earn a bit of extra money at the same time. With the rise in internet based jobs, there are now a whole host of different ways that you can carry on working from home after you have retired. You can make the most of any skills earned throughout your working life and carry on working and earning well into your retirement. The extra cash can come in handy to supplement your pension and can pay for those extra little luxuries which make all the difference or could fund a few special treats for you and your family.
Online Surveys
If you are relatively comfortable using a computer, online surveys can be a fantastic way of earning a little bit on the side. They can be time consuming but are extremely easy to do and pay you money for doing an almost effortless job. There are loads of different sites; it might be an idea to read the reviews of each site before signing up, just to make sure that there haven’t been any issues with actually paying people. The surveys themselves can vary from site to site and subject to subject, but most of them are designed for market research purposes. You can earn up to £12 an hour for simply answering a few lifestyle questions and giving companies your honest opinions from the comfort of your own armchair.
Freelance writing
If you can use word processing software and are a skilled writer, freelance writing could be the perfect way to work from home in your retirement. There are a whole host of different websites which will put you in touch with people looking for writers to supply content for newsletters, blogs and websites. If you get good reviews from your clients and continue to perform at a high standard, you could see yourself being paid £15 an hour easily, without having to take a single step outside.
Set up a B&B
If you have a spare room in your house then you could rent it out to visitors and bring in a little extra money. If you enjoy hosting people and feel at ease meeting new people all the time then this could be the perfect way to keep you busy and to bring in some extra money. This may involve a little bit of investment and maintenance to make sure you are giving people a standard of hospitality and cleanliness which they are prepared to pay for, but it could be a fun and innovative way of making some money. If you live near a college or university, try seeing if there are any foreign students who need a place to stay. They will often pay decent money to have a room in a welcoming and friendly home.
Private Tuition
Home tuition is becoming more and more popular as getting into university becomes more competitive. If you have experience teaching and have a particular area of expertise, be it maths, English literature, chemistry, French or history, by reading up about the current syllabus you could easily find pupils to pay you for your time teaching them. Home tutors can be paid up to £30 an hour
Creative projects
If any of your retirement hobbies include producing something creative, whether its painting, knitting, sewing, upcycling or photography, you could sell your creations to make some cash. Start with friends and family and then use the internet to market your skills and get more people interested in what you do. You could start taking commissions and charge more for something bespoke and unique.
Data Entry
There are always companies looking for people to perform fairly mundane tasks which don’t require any specialist skills. These jobs usually involved transferring data or numbers from one type of list or format to another. It is pretty boring but is very easy and you don’t need any special training to be able to do a good job, just a computer and a bit of patience. If you work quickly and efficiently then you can start to earn quite good money.
So whether you are looking for something to keep you occupied during your retirement or whether you could do with the extra income, working from home could be the answer to all of your problems. Make the most of a lifetime of skills and put them to use according to your own needs and wants. Work as much or as little as you want to, choosing the hours most convenient for you so that you can carry on socialising and enjoying yourself as well.
