Retirement Tips

Some people are really lucky. They retire and get to spend their time doing something they love, maybe something they’ve always dreamed of doing, just waiting till retirement so they can do it. And they can even make money at it.

Is there some reason you can’t have a ‘retirement job’ like that?

Not really.

Admittedly, we can’t control everything. But we can usually control more than we actually do. One of the things we can control is the effort we put into making our dreams come true.

For example, I remember reading something once about the difference between dreaming of being an author and of being a writer. People who dream of being an author plan on writing once they have the time, but people who dream of being a writer actually write. They don’t wait for the time…they make it, and just wish they had more.

For many of us, retirement is a time where all our excuses hit a brick wall, particularly if those excuses are about starting our own business or otherwise working for ourselves. For many retirees, that brick wall stands there firm and strong even when we do finally have the time.

But retirement is actually a great time to take that final step. Sure, we may really need extra money, but we no longer have the excuse of not enough time. All we have to do is face the truth. The truth being that many of us are actually scared to death to take that final step.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about some of the excuses people give for not taking that last step, and what we can do to overcome those excuses.

free time

jobs after retirement

retirement income

retirement investing

retirement job

Retirement Living

seasonal jobs

working in retirement

Yesterday we talked about getting a job after you retire, whether it’s because you want to keep active or because you could use some extra money. Today we’ll look at a couple of resources.

One place you can start looking is at your old employer. Where I work, some of white-collar folks retire and register with the local temporary labor company. Yes, this company does provide warehouse workers and day laborers, but they have developed a very close working relationship with the large company where I work. Our company goes to them for skilled white-collar professionals to help out when we have the need.

It’s not unusual for someone to retire one week from our company and be back the next week as a “Kelly Boy” in the same department. Now of course our company’s rules prevent us from using these temporary employees to replace a permanent employee. Instead they are used in true temporary assignments of one to three months. This is fine with us, since these short-time assignments don’t threaten the full-timers, and it helps us out during crunch times.

If your pre-retirement employer is not a possibility for this, that doesn’t mean you don’t have skills that businesses will pay for. Or that your years of experience won’t be invaluable to them. However, retirees often can’t recognize those skills or be able to articulate them either on a resume or in an interview. Nor do they always know how to prepare themselves for that old bugaboo “we’re afraid you’re overqualified” and be able to handle it effortlessly in the job interview or earlier in their cover letter.

Fortunately there are many resources available to retirees looking for employment.

One resource is your state Department of Aging. The folks there can provide you with a list of services and contact information for appropriate employment resources in your area. If you are looking for work because you are a low-income retiree, there are additional resources available to you.

Another free government resource is your local One-Stop Workforce Center or whatever it’s called in your state. They can provide you with assistance in your job search.

Don’t overlook a temp agency, even if you don’t have the situation we have with my current employer. You may have discounted temp agencies in the past because you needed a full-time job, but not only do temp jobs often lead to permanent offers, but there’s nothing wrong with temp positions being your part time job.

Perhaps even more important, temp agencies (as well as One-Stop Workforce Centers) can work with you on updating your resume to reflect your strengths (not your age), help you practice your interview skills, and work on all those other intangibles that can make or break your retirement job search.

professionals

retirement investing

retirement job

Retirement Living

seasonal jobs

temp agency

temporary assignment

temporary employee

white collar

working in retirement

When we think about retirement investing, many of us initially dream of having enough money to spend the rest of our lives in a retirement lifestyle straight out of Fantasy Island. I went to high school with someone whose ultimate goal was to be a millionaire by the time he was 40, then retire and cruise the Caribbean on his own yacht. I ran into him at our 25th reunion and, you know what? He’d done it. And 2 years later, he had become so bored he couldn’t stand it…so he is working again. So much for the fantasy retirement lifestyle.

Now, granted, 42 is pretty young to be looking for a retirement job. But his situation does point out something many of us are going to be facing one of these days…when we retire, what are we going to do with all that free time?

I know, I know. You’re thinking you have all kinds of things to keep you busy. But do you truly have enough to last for 15 years? Or more?

If you’re one of the lucky ones, you have a passion that will, indeed, keep you busy. Something you’ve always loved to do which now fills up your time.

But the rest of us, unless we’ve always been couch potatoes, are going to need to do something or go stir crazy. Or, worse, die younger than we have to.

(And, yes, there are always going to be people who need to work after they retire because they need the money, but that’s an entirely different issue.)

The great thing about looking for a retirement job if you don’t need the money is…you don’t need the job because you need the money!

That opens up all kinds of possibilities. Oh, sure, you could volunteer somewhere. Volunteer opportunities are everywhere, but lots of us already do that. I’m talking about doing something new in our lives that we get paid for because what we do is worth getting paid for. After all, money has been a measure of how good we are or how much of a contribution we are making for most of our working lives, so it’s nice to know that we’re still worth something. Plus, working for free isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

But there are lots of jobs out there that could be just perfect for those of us who are retired from our previous jobs, but not retired from life. Even the Social Security laws are made so that we can continue to work and make a certain amount of money without affecting our benefits.

For example, seasonal jobs like park rangers are a great opportunity for retirees who don’t want to work all year round but love the outdoors. Or consider becoming a temp…taking work only when you feel like you want to work doing what you feel like doing. How about becoming a substitute teacher? You don’t need a degree in education to be a substitute teacher and to make a difference in young people’s lives.

Retirement doesn’t mean you have to putter around the house. Getting a new job can be a great way to spend your retirement!

free time

retirement investing

retirement job

Retirement Living

seasonal jobs

social security

volunteer

volunteering

working in retirement