If you could retire mid50s and change “career”…?

[Nugg]

I’m in the fortunate position that I could take my Work pension and retire this summer on my birthday and do something different. I want to work part-time. My health is only going to worsen because I have an autoimmune disorder that is suddenly ramping up.

I would love to do just something I enjoy and then make the most of life and travel and spend time with my children and extended family

I’m single, which has put me off retiring, but I just feel like I could do something else

I have enough savings to be able to pay myself a wage and not work if I needed to, but I would rather work and earn money and top up with my pension

I know it’s how long is a piece of string because everybody likes different things but what sort of thing would you do if you just wanted to work 2 to 3 days a week or even less than that?

I’m just looking for some different ideas!

I think it depends on if you’re able to move etc as a retail role might be a good way to earn a little and leave things behind when you finish at the end of the day. Library could be another good option too.
I was in a similar position and able to retire 18 months ago (mid 50’s) but I have made life hard for myself and I’m a first year student nurse.

Following with interest as I'd love to be able to do something like this. Financially, I could potentially retire in early/mid 50s but I want to then do something - interesting but less stressful than current big job - but I'm not sure what.

Oh God, yeah I’m very very active fine motor skills are disappearing and the fatigue is crushing however retail is a no.

I don’t know anyone that works in retail that enjoys it anymore, Weekends, bank holidays, Christmas New Year… If I had a zero hours contract, I could probably cope🤣

Library be a good call although they seem to run on skeleton staff.

i’ve always wanted to work in B&Q or a garden centre, but that just seems a bit stereotypical!!

I’m exactly the same. I absolutely love what I do. I work very autonomously in a huge (NHS) organisation but my role is in no way able to be part-time sadly!

I suppose there are options to do something else within the organisation but money is being cut everywhere and jobs are few and far between at the moment

My friend went to work in a garden centre; it's pretty heavy work and she really found it tough going physically (she even got RSI from carrying a hose all day, things wrong with her feet from wearing steel toecaps)

Oh good lord thank you for the reality check 🤣 I imagined wafting about deadheading 🤣

i’ve always wanted to work in B&Q or a garden centre, but that just seems a bit stereotypical!!

If it would make you happy and you'd be able to do that kind of work, does it matter how stereotypical it may be? They're popular choices for a reason!

How about being a companion carer? Visiting elderly people, coffee and cake, taking them out for a few errands or a bit of fresh air?

I wouldn't be my cup of tea personally - I'd work a couple of days in a bookshop then have a side hustle doing craft markets!

A zero hour contract isn't a bad idea if you can make it work for you. Delivery driver - small parcels only. Blood deliveries. I heard of someone, post retirement, who drove the vehicles that moved disabled passengers around the airport. Are you near a city?

My ideal job would be beach towel testing for tropical locations!

If you’ve had a career that involved a degree of responsibility I think you could get very bored in a more mundane job, and, you’d be unlikely to get a lot of leave allowance if you are planning to travel.

Would signing up to a temp agency of some sort be worth thinking about?

I’d like to learn furniture restoration and have a little business buying unloved antiques at auction and giving them a new life. Suspect it’s a quick way to lose money, sadly, but it’s a nice idea.

On a larger scale I’d like to do the same for houses- doing a loving refurb of old houses- but that’s definitely a way to lose money.

I’d do a degree in criminology! Or go to Spain and learn Spanish and eat lots of tapas 😍

Would it work as a job share?

Where I work people just give up hours and responsibilities at this stage but I suppose in the NHS you'd need there to be a specific vacancy at a lower grade than you? I have known nurses who went from sister to staff nurse to HCA (or something like that) whilst also dropping hours as they phased down, but probably more vacancies for those roles.

Is your role one where you could offer your skills as part time freelance in private sector?

These are the very boring options I would pursue if it were me! I like learning new things but training in a new field, establishing yourself in a new workplace, navigating a new set of normal, proving yourself, passing assessments... Well, those are all stressful and not what I'd call fun.

But that's me.

Something with no meetings or emails and ability to completely switch off at end of day.

I did think about being a nanny for a young baby so I could indulge my reading/coffee shop habit but the responsibility would play on my mind.

Bookshop or library might be nice; just something quietish, not too much public interaction. Maybe work at whoever is running the lottery and tell people they’ve won or be Agent Millionaire for Premium Bonds.

House sitter à la Kate Winslet in the Holiday is another option….

Ideally I don’t want to work. Just eat cake, sleep and read.

Dream jobs that I'd be very very unlikely to ever get-

Food Critic.
Model.
Owner of cafe/bakery/pub.
A job where I literally just sit there doing what I like all day. Maybe occasionally answering emails or calls for a really unbusy boss who only had really lovely clients and suppliers.
Wardrobe stylist or costume designer for Hollywood movies.
Manager of a rich persons house and they were never there and had very very low cleanliness standards.
80s pop star in the style of Bananarama or Wendy James.
Editor of a print magazine about not much but with loads of pretty pictures.

Bookshop staff would be my top pick. But in a rubbish employee. I’d want to be rearranging the whole thing and creating new events etc.

I think it’s a fantastic idea especially if the income is a “nice to have” as opposed to needed.
i spent the day in hospital recently and was amazed at how the NHS is. Would you fancy something in that line?

I’ve changed from a full time management role, public authority, to a contact handler part time for a charity. I’ve enjoyed the change, no decision making, and the charity, but I’m glad it’s coming to an end as when I’m in it’s restricting to sit in one place, do one thing (though that may just be me of course too) and sadly on my full day shifts I get bored already - though I’m certainly not perfect at my job by a long shot - which has been a good lesson, if not one I wanted to learn necessarily ha!
I am however in between times, and at my elderly age, learning reflexology and foot care and going to do that at a relative’s salon hopefully from September - a complete change. Foot care isn’t so popular so there is room for my late life change - a lot of nice things are unfortunately popular.
I’d love, love, love to work in a cat cafe tbh - never found a job to apply for - library sounds nice, but it’s not just the stacking and stamping now that I fancied as a kid and jobs are rare there.
Could you volunteer or do temp type work whilst you check if you would like the role?
Part time does make any job a bit easier though - without kids anyway.

Work out your outgoings if you haven’t, add in inflation and see if really affordable. I did this and have had various voluntary roles whilst awaiting DH to retire. He retired last year. We then bought a Motorhome, plans curtailed by his Mother as unwell and he cared for her. I have now been diagnosed with angina so just trying to get used to drug regime, first lot I had a reaction to at the very severe end and was in hospital this weekend.

My friend is a Librarian, anyone leaving is not being replaced for the same hours or at all

I always think Court Usher looks like a really interesting stress-free job! Especially in the criminal courts. Nothing to take home with you, and such interesting cases.

Is it retirement though? I claim some nhs pension and work part time but never refer to myself as retired.

For the people saying library work - this requires a huge amount of interaction with the public! People can get very aggressive too, especially when it comes to fines. You would be amazed. (I’ve worked in many)

Please become the next Bananarama or Wendy James. I love that for you as your wish.

If you like to travel think about becoming a freelance travel agent. You get all the deals and commission on your bookings and if you only do it for family and friends it can soon add up!

it’s my plan for a gentle retirement when I leave the corporate world!

What about doing small gardening jobs for people or training in floristry?