When you enter your seventh decade, employment market shrinks considerably, that is why we have compiled a list of the best jobs if you are above 60.
People who have celebrated their 60th birthday rarely tend to change their career, thinking that it simply isn’t worth the hustle with retirement looming around the corner. If you are one of those people, think again, because we have some news for you.
Average retirement age gets pushed up all the time. There are several reasons for that. The recent medical discoveries have allowed humans to be able to work well into their golden years. Today, a 60-year old is able to perform tasks that have been reserved for much younger people in the past. Average senior in our age has retained far more of their physical and mental capacities than their counterparts 50 years ago when 60 was considered a usual retirement age and people deciding to work past that were an exception.
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Another reason is shrinking pension funds. Fewer people have access to pensions nowadays than before and are forced to work far longer in order to obtain an income.
Finally, there are those who can easily afford to retire but want to keep on working. Some people identify with their work and would feel useless without it, some like their jobs and of course, there are those who just can’t imagine spending a whole day with their spouses.
Reasons for getting a new job at 60 are also diverse. Some people are bored at their job and want new challenges and new experiences, thinking that the phrase “the rest of your life” means quite a shorter time span for them and if they don’t try something new now, they may not get a second chance. Others want a part time job to supplement their pension, if they are retired, or setting a foundation for when they do. Of course, there are those who got laid off at 60 and are in need of a new job, which is the most affected category. Finding a job when you are over 60 is difficult enough if you do it at your own pace, imagine how stressful it must be to be in a desperate need for one, especially without any savings to lean on while you are job hunting.
If you do find yourself in that situation, there are few steps you should take in order to minimize both your stress levels and time out of employment. First, take a look at your finance. This will determine how long you can afford to look for a new job and ultimately, how picky you can be. Don’t be afraid to look for something that is outside your current field. Perhaps getting fired was just what you needed to get a new career. Get in touch with your connections (if by 60 you don’t have them, you were doing something terribly wrong), but also try to make new ones. Lastly, don’t be afraid to call it quits and start collecting your social security checks. After all, let’s be honest, finding a job at 60 isn’t for everyone.
Waiting for few years after the retirement age can have a significant financial impact on the amount of Social Security money you receive every month. For each year you wait past 62 (the minimum for applying for Social Security checks), your monthly income increases. Finding a nice job to help you bridge the gap until later can be very lucrative in your later years.
There are companies who have discovered that hiring seniors is an excellent human resources tactic, as they provide stability and can tap into their huge experience pool to better solve unexpected problems college kids didn’t have an opportunity to learn in school. We have found a list of some of the best employers for workers over 60 that will gladly hire older workers and provide them with an opportunity to work again. You can see it here.
For our recommendation of the best jobs if you are above 60, we have consulted several sources, similar to what we did for our list of the Best Jobs if You Are Above 50. The first one is U. S. News. Then we looked at Anti-Ageing site that also has few recommendations and finally, we used Care and their suggestions for best part time jobs for seniors, most of which can also be done full time if you want. The jobs are ranked according to the median wage they pay per hour. We hope that this will help you and that you will be able to find something that will allow you to make some money in your golden years.
