One type of work is clearly the best for any about-to-be-retiree with little or no savings: stay in your current job and stash money away as fast as you can.
But if retirement is already a fact of life for you then the next best thing to do is become a consultant or freelance or instructor/teacher using the skills you already have plus any special education or licensing your field requires. You can begin to earn income to supplement Social Security without spending time acquiring new knowledge or a new skill set. This is true whether you are an engineer or mechanic or marketer.
Another choice is to apply your current skills to another field where demand for employees is high, such as Health Care.
Going into an altogether new career, acquiring new skills, getting additional education and/or licensing–all of that takes time and money. If you are thinking seriously about changing your career after retiring from your primary employment, do the math! It may turn out that the costs to launch yourself into a new career outweigh the amount of money you will make.
And keep in mind that if you start collecting Social Security at age 62 there is a limit on the amount of money you can earn each year prior to your full retirement year before the Social Security Administration starts taking part of your Social Security back. This limit on earned income changes annually.
So how do you find consulting or freelance assignments?
1. Look business-like and official, but keep your start-up costs low. You absolutely must have business cards and a website these days. For attractive and inexpensive cards use Vista Print. You can get a free website using WordPress and create a one or two page website within an hour or so.
2. Ask your boss or the HR department–before you retire–if they could use your services part time after your retirement date. They may jump at the opportunity to have your skills on a part time basis. Your old boss may be your new “best friend”, employing you on an as-needed basis.
3. Place phone calls to the competition. Call the companies that compete with the one you are leaving–but only after you have left. People at other companies may leap at the chance to employ you, even part time. Be careful, however, because they may just be trying to pick your brain and not offer you any assignments. Be careful about Non-Compete clauses that prohibit you from working for a competing company.
4. Tell everyone you know professionally and personally. Then call everyone you know in your field and social circle to let them know that you are setting up a consulting/freelance business.
5. Keep at it. You may not land an assignment with your first phone call, but don’t give up. Check back a few weeks later.
Important: You should do all these steps at the time you are retiring. Do not wait even a few months to make the phone calls. You want to be a “Hot Property” — not yesterday’s news.
About Temp Agencies: Temp Agencies can be an excellent source of work, but if you are serious about building a consulting business you should probably avoid them. They take a big cut off the top of any fee a company pays, leaving you with a much smaller piece of the pie. It’s much better for you to contact companies directly–particularly companies where you are known–and keep the whole big juicy pie to yourself!
About Online Freelance Sites: Sites such as Upwork or Freelancer are excellent sources of freelance work and can be a basis for developing a consulting business.