Life after retirement: side hustles for seniors

7 ways you can bump up your retirement income

You’ve retired from the career that you worked in for thirty or forty years. Maybe you’ve had a few years of resting, travelling and enjoying life. But perhaps things have changed, and you need a bit of extra cash. Or maybe you’re looking for a renewed sense of purpose and want to put all those years of experience and skills to good use.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits associated with a strong sense of purpose and meaning in life, including resilience, longevity, and a greater sense of wellbeing. This is because people who believe their life has meaning reduce their stress response. They have lower levels of inflammation and lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

In addition, a life that is meaningful and filled with worthwhile activities also leads to better mental health in ageing adults.

Whatever the reason, just because you’ve retired from your career, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a retirement income. Having a side hustle can be great for not only your bank balance but also for your sense of wellbeing.

Here are some excellent side hustles for seniors you could consider.

1. Set up an Etsy shop or market stall

Are you a keen sewer or knitter? Have people told you should sell your creations and you’ve previously scoffed at the thought. If you’re interested in earning some extra retirement income, it could be an easy way to combine doing what you enjoy with earning some extra dollars.

If you’re more of an online type of person, you’ll love the ease of an Etsy shop. This platform is a mecca for homemade, vintage and crafty supplies where people love supporting independent sellers. Simply set up your store, take a few photos of the things you’ve made, and off you go.

If you like to get out and about, you could consider getting a stall at a local market. Start small with a few creations, then build it up as you go. You could even share the stall with a friend who is also creative and wants to earn some extra income.

2. Use your writing, photography, or translation skills

Do you love getting out and about with your digital SLR? Do you know an oxford comma when you see one and can spot a tpyo from a mile off (see what we did there!)? Can you speak in multiple languages? You can use these skills to build up a lucrative side hustle.

The gig economy is alive and well. Plenty of businesses and organisations are looking for freelancers to write or edit articles, translate documents and take beautiful pictures.

If you’re interested in learning more, you could check out platforms like UpWork, Fiverr, ProBlogger, and Pixpa for more information.

3. Ride share

Ride share companies like Uber, Ola and Didi are a popular way for you to earn extra cash in a flexible way. You use your own car and you control who you pick up and when you work.

If you’re a woman, you could also consider Shebah, an all-women rideshare service that aims to provide safe transport to women across the country. You could also look into smaller ride share operations in your area that specialise in driving children or older people around the community.

4. Gardening support

If you’ve got a green thumb, you could be highly sought after. Many busy professionals and families don’t have time to maintain their lawns and gardens. However, they’d love to support someone local who knows the difference between a gardenia and a grevillea and where to plant them.

You could put an ad on your local community notice board or on your community Facebook group. If you have a lovely garden that gets admiring glances, you could even put up a little sign advertising your services.

5. Pet sitting and walking

Since everyone had to work from home in 2020, pet ownership increased dramatically. However, now that people are heading back to the office more regularly, there are lots of lonely pooches in dire need of company and a good walk.

If you’re a keen dog walker and have a bit of time, this could be a lucrative opportunity to earn some extra retirement income. Similarly, pet sitting is another option, either in your own home or in theirs.

Where is the easiest place to meet dog owners? Your local dog park on the weekend is a great place to meet other dog owners and see whether anyone needs some help. You could also search for pet sitting opportunities on Google and sign up for various websites.

6. Babysitting

If you have childcare or parenting experience, then babysitting could be an excellent source of retirement income. Busy parents are always looking for reliable babysitters to help provide care for their children.

It could be as simple as providing a pickup service from the local primary school where you bring the children home from school, give them a snack and supervise their homework. Or if you’re up for a full day of work, you could mind a local toddler one or two days a week when their parents are at work.

7. Rent out your spaces

There are plenty of ways you can rent out your extra space to people who need it. If you have a granny flat, you could put it on Airbnb for holiday lets or you could let it on a more full-time basis through a real estate agent.

Alternatively, if you travel or visit family and friends frequently, you could rent out your entire home for short-term holiday lets while you’re away.

Don’t have extra living space? You could even rent out an extra car parking space if you live in an area that gets lots of traffic.

What are some implications of earning retirement income?

Before you start up your side hustle, you need to do some research about your tax implications and whether it will affect your age pension. Make sure you talk to your accountant or the free Australian Government’s Financial Information Service.

If you’d like to know more about how we can help with your life after retirement, get in touch with us at Five Good Friends.