Supplementing your income in retirement sounds like a good idea, but it is more difficult than you might imagine. Continuing excerpts from an article that provides “the lowdown on whether you can find a job when you’re at or past retirement age,” USA Today’s Rodney Brooks covers some steps to consider that will make “your transition to a working retirement easier”:
“1. Start planning long before you retire.
“Life coach and retirement expert Anne McNeill of West Palm Beach, Fla., says things will go a lot better for job-seeking retirees if they plan, and plan early. ‘Ask the question, ‘What skills do I need? If I knew I was going to want to be a speaker, how do I prepare?’ Go back and retool, retrain for that next career’.
“Moira McGarvey, former executive recruiter and founder of the Boomer website www.Gangsaway.com, says people should plan at least five years ahead. ‘The whole idea of pre-planning is to figure out what is important’, she says. ‘Maybe you are an accountant and want to be a hairdresser. Go see what it takes to be a hairdresser. Get that going before you reach the end of your career’.
“2. If possible, stay in your current job, even if it’s in a reduced capacity, or stay with your current employer.
“’People in midlife should give (some) thought to what they’d like to do toward the end of their careers’, says [Sara] Rix. ‘It is easier to stay where you are’. Research shows that when it comes to age discrimination legislation, it seems to have had a positive impact on the relationship between workers and their current employers, making it possible for people to stay longer with that employer. ‘To change careers and jobs is harder, and you shouldn’t expect that it will happen automatically’, she says
“3. Consider turning a hobby into a job or business.
“’A lot of people in their 50s are preparing for their retirement careers’, says Dennis Miller, author of the book Retirement Reboot and founder of the retirement website www.MillersMoney.com. For example, Miller says, perhaps you have a skill, and want a retirement career teaching that craft .
“In the next, concluding blog: Be prepared to make less money—a lot less.”