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May 3, 2026 • 16 minutes
Reaching retirement doesn’t have to mean that you’ll never work again. In fact, it might be a great opportunity to work on your own terms. Part-time work can help you improve your retirement income, keep you active, give you purpose and be fun all at the same time.
Research from AARP shows a growing share of people in their 60s and 70s keep working in some capacity compared with prior generations, often because they want engagement and purpose rather than out of pure financial necessity. A few extra hours a week can help cover travel, hobbies, or rising everyday expenses without committing to a full-time schedule. For many people, part-time work also provides a sense of structure and regular social contact that can be hard to replace after leaving a long career.
Some retirees stay in their field and shift into consulting or teaching; others try something new such as gardening, pet care, or event staffing. The key is choosing work that fits your energy, health, and financial picture. And if the work can be done from home, working from home after retirement is more accessible than most people expect.
Before you start applying, it helps to have a simple framework for deciding whether a job is truly retirement-friendly.
Use these criteria as a quick filter, then focus on the jobs that truly match your health, income needs, and preferred pace.
Below are 20 flexible jobs that work well for many retirees. Some build directly on your career; others are more social, seasonal, or hobby-driven. Where possible, you’ll see typical hourly pay ranges based on recent national data.
If you liked your work and colleagues, gradually scaling back your existing role is often the smoothest transition into retirement. Many employers will consider part-time or consulting arrangements to keep your expertise, especially in fields like healthcare, education, finance, and technology. Depending on your profession, hourly pay can be similar to your previous rate and in some cases higher for short-term consulting projects.
Skills like playing an instrument, quilting, woodworking, photography, sewing, or baking can become income if you teach others. You can offer small in-person classes, private lessons, or online workshops through local community centers or digital platforms. Rates vary widely, but many retirees charge roughly $20–50 per hour for private or small-group instruction, depending on demand and location.
Tutoring is a strong option if you enjoy helping students and have solid academic skills. You can focus on subjects you know well, standardized test prep, or basic homework support, and offer sessions in person or online through sites such as Wyzant or local school programs. National data shows typical tutoring pay around $15–30 per hour, with higher rates for specialized subjects or advanced courses.
Golf is a classic retirement activity, and working part-time at a course or driving range can combine income with time outdoors. Common roles include pro shop staff, starter, marshal, or cart attendant, often with perks such as discounted or free play. Pay usually falls in the mid-teens per hour, similar to other recreation and customer service jobs, with seasonal peaks during busy months.
Virtual assistants provide remote administrative support such as managing email, scheduling, data entry, or customer communication for small businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs. This can be especially attractive if you previously worked in office, managerial, or administrative roles and want to keep using those skills from home. Many virtual assistants earn roughly $18–30 per hour, depending on experience and the complexity of tasks.
With decades of experience, you can often command strong rates as a consultant or freelancer in your field. Common assignments include advising on strategy, coaching younger professionals, managing discrete projects, or filling interim leadership gaps. Hourly pay varies widely but is often in the $40–100+ range for specialized professional consulting, so even modest part-time hours can add real weight to retirement income.
If you enjoy being outdoors, light gardening and yard care can be satisfying work that doesn’t require heavy equipment. You might help clients with planting, pruning, container gardens, or maintaining flower beds and vegetable plots rather than mowing large lawns or doing heavy tree work. Many small gardening and groundskeeping roles pay around $14–22 per hour, with higher rates for more specialized work or higher-cost areas.
Bartending can be a lively, social role if you’re comfortable on your feet and enjoy talking with people. Many bartenders work in restaurants, hotel bars, social clubs, or event venues, and some states require short responsible-alcohol-service training or certification that can often be completed in about a week or two. Base pay is usually in the mid-teens per hour, but tips can double take-home pay on a busy weekend night.
More people are choosing in-home pet care over kennels, creating steady demand for pet sitters and dog walkers. You can offer daytime walks, overnight stays, or vacation coverage and find clients through word of mouth or platforms like Rover. Pay is often structured per walk or per overnight stay, but many sitters and walkers effectively earn the equivalent of about $15–25+ per hour once you factor in multiple pets and tips.
Retail positions are common and can be especially enjoyable if you choose a store that aligns with your interests, whether that’s a bookstore, garden center, craft shop, sporting-goods store, or boutique. These roles often include customer service, stocking, and point-of-sale work, with extra opportunities during holidays. Typical pay is around $13–20 per hour, and some employers offer employee discounts or retiree-friendly scheduling.
Many school districts struggle to find enough substitute teachers, which makes this a flexible, high-impact job for retirees who enjoy working with children. Licensing requirements vary by state and district — some require a bachelor’s degree or teaching credential, while others have more flexible standards due to shortages. Pay can range roughly from $100–180 per day, which generally translates into the mid-teens to low-twenties per hour depending on the school day length.
If you have a background in finance, accounting, or operations, basic bookkeeping or seasonal tax prep can be an excellent fit. Small businesses often need help with invoicing, payroll, and recordkeeping, while tax preparation firms hire seasonal staff from late winter through mid-April. Bookkeeping and tax prep roles commonly pay in the $20–35 per hour range, with some experienced preparers earning more during peak season.
Driving jobs offer a high degree of schedule control if you’re comfortable behind the wheel and know your area. Options include rideshare and delivery platforms, medical transport, or part-time routes for local bus and shuttle companies. After expenses, many drivers report an effective hourly rate around $15–25, though earnings vary by region, time of day, and fuel and vehicle costs.
Home health aide and companion roles are in strong demand as the population ages. Tasks can include light housekeeping, meal prep, transportation, and companionship, along with basic personal care if you have the training or credential. Nationally, home health and personal care aides typically earn about $14–20 per hour, and many agencies offer flexible scheduling or short shifts.
Seasonal roles let you work intensively for a few months and then scale back or stop altogether. Common options include summer camp staff, ski resort roles, holiday retail, tax season work, harvest-time agricultural jobs, or campground hosting. Pay varies but often falls in the mid-teens to low-twenties per hour, sometimes supplemented by perks such as housing discounts, free passes, or campsite hookups.
If you like mentoring and sports, coaching youth teams or community leagues can be a rewarding way to stay involved. Opportunities exist through schools, parks and recreation departments, club programs, and nonprofits, and may focus on fundamentals, conditioning, or specific skills. Stipends and hourly rates differ widely, but many part-time coaching roles pay an effective rate in the mid-teens per hour when you divide the stipend by practice and game time.
Event staff help with ticketing, ushering, concessions, and crowd support at concerts, sports events, theaters, festivals, and conferences. You may be hired directly by a venue or through staffing platforms that specialize in hospitality and events. These jobs frequently pay about $15–22 per hour, often during evenings and weekends, and can be a fun way to see shows while earning extra money.
Cruise lines and tour operators hire for roles like lecturers, photographers, entertainers, retail staff, and activity leaders. Work can be intense while you’re on duty but often comes with room, board, and the chance to visit new places. Pay depends on the role and contract but can range from modest stipends with significant in-kind benefits to competitive wages for specialized positions.
Workampers typically live in an RV while working at campgrounds, parks, or amusement areas in exchange for a free site plus potential hourly pay. Duties may include guest check-in, light maintenance, or activity coordination during the busy season. Many arrangements provide a full-hookup campsite and an hourly wage that often falls in the $12–20 range, depending on location and responsibilities.
Retirement can be an ideal time to launch a small venture using your expertise or interests — whether that’s consulting, home repairs, online selling, crafts, coaching, or specialized services. Research from the Kauffman Foundation and other groups has found that older entrepreneurs often have higher success rates than younger founders, in part because of accumulated experience, established networks, and greater financial stability. Income potential varies widely, but even a modest business can provide meaningful supplemental income and a strong sense of ownership over your time.
Most part-time jobs that appeal to retirees fall somewhere between the mid-teens and mid-twenties per hour, with higher pay for specialized professional or technical work. National wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and other sources provide useful benchmarks when you’re deciding how much to work and what to expect.
Actual pay will depend on your location, experience, and how many hours you choose to work. Some roles also offer non-cash benefits such as free rounds of golf, campsite hookups, travel, or store discounts that can add to the overall value of the job.
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Before you add part-time income on top of Social Security and retirement withdrawals, it’s important to understand how the rules work and how often they change.
If you start Social Security before your full retirement age (FRA), the retirement earnings test can temporarily reduce your monthly benefits if you earn above a certain amount from work. The Social Security Administration sets annual earnings limits and publishes them each year; you can always find the current numbers on the SSA “Receiving benefits while working” page.
As of the most recent figures available when this article was updated, retirees who are under FRA all year can earn up to a specific annual amount before the earnings test applies; above that threshold, the SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 earned over the limit. In the calendar year you reach FRA, a higher annual limit applies and the formula shifts to $1 withheld for every $3 earned above that higher threshold until the month you reach full retirement age. The SSA’s Special Earnings Limit Rule page explains how the grace-year monthly rule works for people who retire mid-year.
Once you reach full retirement age, the earnings test no longer applies and your Social Security benefits are not reduced for work income going forward. The SSA also recalculates your benefit at FRA to account for months when benefits were withheld, so these reductions are not permanent.
Editor note: Before publishing, drop in the current-year earnings limits from SSA.gov and confirm the links above are resolving correctly.
Part-time work does not change your basic eligibility for Medicare, but higher income can increase what you pay for Part B and Part D through income-related monthly adjustment amounts (IRMAA). Medicare and Social Security look at your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from two years prior to determine whether IRMAA surcharges apply and, if so, how large they are.
Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes income brackets that determine when IRMAA surcharges begin and how much they add to standard Part B and Part D premiums. For 2026 and later years, always check the latest thresholds and surcharge amounts on medicare.gov or cms.gov, because these brackets adjust periodically.
Wages and self-employment income from part-time jobs are taxed as ordinary income, just like earnings earlier in your career. Higher income can also increase the portion of your Social Security benefits that is taxable — up to 85% of benefits can be included in taxable income if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds set in the tax code.
Because these interactions can be complex, many retirees run scenarios before committing to a particular job or schedule. A planning tool like the Boldin Planner can help you model different part-time income levels and start dates and see how they could affect your Social Security benefits, Medicare premiums, and projected taxes over time.
When you’re ready to look for work, combining online platforms with local connections tends to produce the best results.
Networking still matters: let friends, former colleagues, and community contacts know you’re open to flexible work. Many of the best retirement jobs show up through personal referrals rather than formal postings.
If you are under your full retirement age and receiving Social Security, the retirement earnings test can reduce your benefits once your work income exceeds a yearly limit. The SSA publishes current limits each year; when your earnings go over that amount, Social Security temporarily withholds part of your benefit based on a formula that depends on whether you are under FRA all year or reach FRA during the year. Once you reach full retirement age, the earnings test stops applying and your monthly benefit is no longer reduced because of work income.
The highest-paying part-time roles for retirees typically leverage professional experience or specialized skills. Consulting, coaching, and professional freelance work can pay in the $40–100+ per hour range, while bookkeeping, tax preparation, and technical or advanced-subject tutoring often fall in the $20–35 per hour range. Skilled trades, home repairs, and certain tech or data roles can also command strong hourly rates when offered on a project or contract basis.
If you prefer low-impact work, consider tutoring, remote customer service, bookkeeping, tax preparation, virtual assistant roles, or consulting. These jobs are desk-based, often offer flexible schedules, and can be done from home, which makes them a good fit if you want to limit standing, lifting, or long commutes. Local nonprofits and community organizations also sometimes offer part-time administrative roles that fit this profile.
Part-time work does not prevent you from enrolling in Medicare or using your coverage, but higher income can increase what you pay for Part B and Part D through IRMAA surcharges. Medicare and Social Security look at your modified adjusted gross income from two years prior; if it exceeds the thresholds CMS sets for a given year, you pay an additional monthly amount on top of standard premiums. These surcharges rise in tiers as income increases, so it’s worth checking the latest IRMAA brackets if you expect your income to climb.
Jobs with the most schedule control generally include rideshare and delivery driving, pet sitting and dog walking, tutoring, and freelance consulting or project-based work. In these roles, you usually choose when to accept assignments or schedule clients, which makes it easier to work around travel, caregiving, or other retirement plans. Some remote roles such as virtual assistant or customer support positions also offer flexible shifts that can be tailored to your preferred hours.
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