Retirement Jobs (Part 1)

Retirement job. That’s almost an oxymoron. How can you be retired and working too? Well it’s easy, often times fun and sometimes necessary. This multi-part article looks at your motivation for working and offers some solid paths to meeting your goals and needs. For Part 1 let’s start with work as a necessity.

It’s not hard to imagine in the current economy that a job after retirement is a necessity. Inflation is growing and it’s hitting the staples in life. The much higher cost of oil has impacted everything from food prices to transportation costs to utility bills. When you need to work after retirement it means your goals are usually different than if you don’t. Maximum income is typically most important so let’s look at that first.

You have a set of skills. They form the basis for a retirement job that offers the best chance for top earnings. So where can you find jobs that will use your skills and what companies are most likely to hire a retiree? Here are links to senior job sites:

http://www.seniorjobnet.com/ http://www.jobs4point0.com/ http://jobsearch.aarp.monster.com/ http://www.retirementjobs.com/ http://www.workforce50.com/ www.usajobs.gov

The last link is to the Federal Government. I will be including a separate part in Retirement Jobs covering working for Uncle Sam. They do hire folks over 50.

And here is a link to the best companies for retirees. http://www.aarp.org/money/careers/employerresourcecenter/bestemployers/winners/2007.html

And some of the best jobs over 50. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0703/gallery.bestjobs_50plus.moneymag/

I listed the senior job sites up front in this article since it may be all you need to get started, but there are two other important points to cover so hang in there with me.

When you are faced with the necessity of working in retirement, keep in mind that eventually you may not be able to work. You should plan for that. This means you must work to lower your costs. Use your income to reduce debt. It is important to work out a budget. Use a good retirement planning tool (http://moneycentral.msn.com/retire/planner.aspx or http://www.bloomberg.com/invest/calculators/retire.html) to map out your income and then budget accordingly(http://www.sayplanning.com/bills/budget_sheet.html). Some folks don’t know what their costs really are and many are surprised with how easy it is to cut out incidental expenses. The cumulative impact of these savings can be even more surprising.

If you can’t cut your costs you need to understand why. Are you living in a high cost area? A simple answer is to move to a lower cost area. This may mean just moving further out or it could mean a complete change of location, maybe to another state or even out of the country. If you want to be near family but can’t afford it, could you live with a family member? It is important to recognize that your costs will increase and you may not always be able to work and you must plan for it. Am I repeating myself?

There is a good website for any retiree, but for those who need or want to cut costs, it has a large section of links devoted to saving money. Check out www.over50resourceguide.com

Ok, back to the jobs. You have the websites to find jobs. You know the best companies for retirees and the best places to live to find work. And you know you MUST cut costs. What are some other ways to find work? A great place to start is actually with your last employer. They may be willing to let you retire and then hire you back. Usually this is for transitional purposes or might be part time but it is one possibility. Another is through your contacts (business friends, church, etc). Networking is a great way to build friends and opportunities. It just might be the answer to finding work.

You also might find that working at a part time job leads to a full time position. Or that several part time jobs together meet your needs. Take advantage of a temporary employment agency to get your foot in the door.

What about working overseas? You don’t have to relocate there permanently to find a nice job. If this appeals to you, check out these websites for some ideas. https://jobs.un.org/Galaxy/Release3/vacancy/vacancy.aspx http://www.who.int/employment/vacancies/en/ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/res.nsf/doc212?OpenForm http://icsc.un.org/joblinks.asp

Keep in mind that, unless the world economy is failing, somewhere there are jobs to be found and they just might be what you need.

The next part of this article explores volunteering as a means of working in retirement. You might be surprised that while you don’t make money you do get some tax advantages that will add to your retirement income.