Earning Money During Retirement
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Whether you’re satisfied with your pension or not, taking up a side-hustle could be a fantastic way to keep your body active and your mind busy. Even if you’ve reached your State Pension age, you can keep working for as long as you’d like to – since a forced retirement age no longer exists. 

For many, working part-time during retirement means much more than just a bit of pocket money. We’ve outlined some of our own suggestions to help inspire you to answer a new calling below. 

Our top three ideas for earning during retirement: 

Become a handyman 

If you’re in good health and you already know how to fix a few things around the house, setting up as a local handyman or woman could be an ideal vocation for you.  

All you’ll need to get started is a helpful, friendly attitude a sturdy toolbox with quality spanners and wrenches amongst other DIY essentials. You’ll pick up new, practical skills on the job and work from your own schedule, too. 

Rent out a spare room 

If you have a spare bedroom in your house, letting it to a lodger could be a lucrative form of income. You can choose how involved you’d like to be as a host, but if you know your way around a good fry-up, you could even open a B&B if you’ve got the space. 

Local tour guide 

Love where you live? If you’re not ready to give up work just yet and you’d like to keep active on the job, becoming a local tour guide could suit you perfectly. Sharing your own knowledge with visitors of different ages and backgrounds could keep each day varied and interesting. 

Our tips for working through retirement: 

Keep your tax bills low 

You’ll need to follow some practical steps to keep your bills down. The easiest way to do this is to take only what you need from your pension each tax year. The lower this amount is, the less tax you’ll be required to pay.  

Delay collecting your State Pension 

For every year you defer your pension, you’ll get an increase of 10.4%. If you’re working after your pension age, delaying your pension is a straightforward way to limit unnecessary tax and give your income a boost. 

Avoid unnecessary withdrawals 

It’s also important to be strategic when it comes to your withdrawals from the taxable percentage of your pension pot. If you’re in the position to do so, try to spread them evenly throughout the year over multiple tax years. This will allow you to benefit from your tax-free allowance.