Part-Time Jobs for Retirees: Work From Home Doing a Job You Love

Being retired doesn’t mean you have to quit working completely. Instead, it gives you the time and freedom to find a job you love without worrying about the size of the pay cheque or how it fits into your long-term career.

Many retirees see a part-time job as the chance to fulfil a passion that they never got round to – perhaps you always wanted to be a writer or an artist, but went down another career path. If that’s the case, now is the time to pick up your pen or paint brushes.

There are plenty of mental benefits to finding a part-time job during retirement too. A part-time job can give your week structure, keep your mind sharp and push you to learn new skills. It’s also the perfect launchpad for meeting new people – and the extra cash doesn’t hurt either.

Ready to find your next role? Here are some of the most popular part-time jobs for retirees, with guidance on what’s involved, the skills you’ll need and where jobs are advertised.

Six Popular Part-Time Jobs for Retirees

1. Motivate Others as a Project Manager

Project managers oversee a project from start to finish. It’s an ideal part-time job for retirees that want to stay busy, as there are a range of responsibilities included:

1. Scope: Planning what work will be completed

2. Schedule: Ensuring tasks are completed on time to meet the project deadline

3. Finance: Estimating costs, setting an agreed budget and controlling costs as the project progresses

4. Quality control: Checking that work is being done to a high standard and delivers against expectations

5. Risk: Assessing potential risks and managing them, to ensure the project isn’t affected

6. Resources: Making sure that your team has the skills and capacity to complete the project. If not, this could involve bringing in external help (like freelancers or contractors)

To be a successful project manager, you’ll need to be organised and able to build strong, collaborative relationships with multiple stakeholders. It’s also useful to have sector knowledge or experience, which is why many employers are keen to hire older workers for project management roles.

Effective planning is key to project management jobs, whether it’s planning timelines, costs or resources. Having a project manager that has worked on similar projects before – either in a project management role or as part of the team – will improve the accuracy of these predictions.

Smart employers will also recognise that the rest of the team can learn from this experience too. You might have invaluable real-life experience that can lend context to project tasks, but you can also help inexperienced employees with skills like problem-solving and time management.

Where to Find Project Management Roles

You can find project management jobs here, and narrow down the search results to show part-time project management jobs.

2. Find an Administrative Role

If you’re organised, computer savvy and have a keen eye for detail, the world is your oyster when it comes to administrative jobs. Administrative assistants are always in demand and play a key role in helping teams run smoothly.

Administrative work is an attractive part-time job for retirees who want consistency. There’s less flexibility than other part-time jobs (hours will usually be dictated by the company), but lots of retirees prefer this sense of certainty. You’ll know exactly when you’ll be working and when your pay cheque is coming in, so you can plan around it.

There’s a huge variety of part-time administrative jobs that you can do from home. Some of it will be organisational, where you help to schedule meetings and liaise with different stakeholders – perfect if you’re looking for more social interaction. Other administrative work will be more computer-based, where you’ll play a pivotal role in updating and maintaining records.

It’s easy to choose the option that fits within your comfort zone, but there will be a much greater pool of part-time jobs available for retirees who aren’t afraid to try something new.

Where to Find Administrative Jobs

You can find part-time administrative jobs in most job listings, so check online job boards. Universities are also usually looking for various administrative roles and tend to offer highly competitive salaries, so it’s worth consulting sites like Jobs.ac.uk too.

3. Inform Policy Change as a Market Research Interviewer

As a market research interviewer, you’ll carry out interviews with the public to find out what they think about a range of issues.

The data collected from these interviews will help organisations make important decisions in areas such as climate change, sustainability, politics, education and technology. This can then inform decision making at a government policy level.

When conducting market research, hours tend to be flexible and you’ll get to meet lots of people from all walks of life. No two days will be the same, so it’s an ideal part-time job for retirees who want a job that feels fresh and interesting.

The most important skill for market research is, simply, the ability to put people at ease. If you want to find out what people really think, they need to feel comfortable enough to open up and be honest with you. You might be lucky enough to have great natural people skills, or have learnt this along in your career with customer or client-facing roles.

Where to Find Market Research Jobs

Ipsos is one of the best organisations for market researcher jobs. They’re an age-inclusive employer who offer comprehensive training and practice sessions to get you comfortable with the role.

Read more about what it’s like to work at Ipsos or browse market researcher jobs here.

4. Explore a Writing or Editing Career

If you’re a keen writer, grammar whizz or eagle-eyed proofreader, this job is for you. Writing, editing and proofreading are all popular part-time jobs for retirees because you can earn a competitive salary with flexible hours that suit you.

There are almost always writing and editing jobs available – the tricky part will be finding where your skills and experience can be put to best use. Writing jobs include:

• Technical writing: This involves writing documents like user manuals, employee handbooks and software guides. You’ll need a good understanding of science and technology.
• Blog writing: This type of writing is a lot more varied and provides the opportunity to tap into a wide range of experience.
• Marketing and press releases: If you can spot a good news story and write attention-grabbing headlines, look for writing jobs in marketing or public relations (PR).
• Ghostwriting: This involves writing articles, speeches, books or other types of text where another person is credited as the author. To become a ghostwriter, you’ll need to be able to cover a wide range of subjects and effectively match a client’s tone of voice.

Where to Find Writing and Editing Jobs

Most writing or editing jobs are advertised on job sites online. However, it’s also worth researching magazines and newspapers in your town or city. Local publications are often looking for new contributors or editors to review submitted articles, and are usually less strict about the experience you’ll need.

The majority of writing jobs will follow a formal application process, where you’ll need to submit a CV as well as examples of your work. If your CV-writing skills are a bit rusty, don’t panic – our careers portal has all the latest advice on how to write a job application, prepare for an interview and more.

5. Use Accounting Skills as a Financial Controller

Is your background in accounting or finance? Do you love going in depth into company budgets and financial forecasts?

A financial controller role is a fantastic part-time job for retirees who want to put their analytical and problem-solving skills to use. It’s a senior role that comes with lots of responsibility, so it’s also highly paid.

As a financial controller, you’ll be responsible for preparing financial reports, maintaining accurate accounting records and ensuring the company stays compliant with relevant legislation.

You’ll need to be a qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA or ACCA) and usually have at least five years’ experience in a similar role in order to get a job within this area.

Where to Find Financial Controller Roles

You can find financial controller jobs by browsing online job boards.

It’s also worth reaching out to your professional network, particularly if you’ve built up a lot of contacts in the accounting and finance space. This is where a LinkedIn profile comes in useful – you can create a profile that lists all your key skills and experience, and connect with other members.

Get more tips on making the most of your LinkedIn profile here.

6. Start Your Own Business

Do you have a hobby or skill that could potentially make you some money? Starting up a small business can be a rewarding part-time job for retirees. It’s a way to follow your passion while working to your own schedule and being your own boss.

There are multiple ways to turn your talent into a successful business too. If you’re a gifted baker, it could involve selling cakes at a weekly farmer’s market and taking commissions for weddings and birthdays on the side. Or, you can go down the teaching route and run classes that help beginners learn to bake.

The main caveat is that running your own business is one of the tougher part-time jobs for retirees. It can take years of time, effort and cash to build up a customer base and start making a profit. But as the Mark Twain saying goes, find a job you enjoy doing and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.

Key Sources of Part-Time Jobs for Retirees

Ready to start looking for the perfect part-time role? Here are some links to advice, support and other resources to help with your job search.

• Jobs/Redefined portal: A jobs portal for age-inclusive work opportunities
• Ask the Expert: How to find flexible work instead of retiring
• NatWest’s graduate programme: NatWest’s age-inclusive programme allows people from different generations to learn new skills and kickstart their career
• The Workshop: Why one company believes you’re never too old for a career in tech
• The Redefiners: Inspiring stories from people over 50 who are redefining their life