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I’ve read with interest posts such as Jonathan’s Taking Center Stage and Those Who Follow, both which touched on the pluses and minuses of taking on a part-time job in retirement. The conversation in the comments for both of those posts was great, too. Below, I share my own recent experience of re-entering the job world at age 64.
In my past HD posts I have written how, in our mid-60s, my husband and I appeared to be gliding into retirement. I even wrote about our setting up a retirement-based TIPS ladder that starts this year. In my mind, our work-for-pay days were over.
Well, not so fast.
First, my husband, who had insisted he was done writing books, suddenly came up with another book idea. And then—surprise!—he actually sold that idea to a major book publisher. After celebrating, we realized this means two years of obsessive research, writing, and editing, then another year of trying to promote the book (I help with that part). Retired he will not be.
Around the same time—probably not a coincidence—I became intrigued that a favorite retailer of mine was building a big new store in my hometown. The idea of a part-time job with them sounded like a fun change-up after being self-employed for the past 16 years. I was eager to learn some new things and looked forward to hobnobbing with others in my community who also liked this store’s products.
After navigating through the corporation’s online application portal and two phone interviews, I landed the job in early October and started being trained, along with 10 other newbies. Next followed a total blur of new-store holiday chaos and punching a time clock on different shifts seven days a week.
“Part-time” and “hobnobbing” went out the window during this all-hands-on-deck period. Goldilocks-like, I went through six different types of shoes searching for the most comfortable ones for standing five to eight hours (Skechers Ultra Flex Statements Sneaker) behind something called a digital point-of-purchase PIN-pad station (ie, cash register).
At my station, I learned about the many ways customers in the mid-2020s pay for goods (the first time someone paid using their wristwatch was a revelation) and the best ways to expeditiously bag those goods without getting paper cuts. I learned that a 15-minute shift break in a windowless break room does not do much for a person except perhaps break one’s spirit. And I observed that store cameras are more for surveilling employees than catching shoplifters. None of these learnings had been on my hopeful “expand my world” list.
Once the holiday season passed, it was inventory and restocking time—with lots of bending and lifting. Noticing I was not thrilled with my new working life, my husband said: “The great thing about having a job that you don’t really need to have is that you can just… leave.” And that I did, a mere four months after starting.
So, what is the lesson here? I would not discourage anyone from taking a post-retirement job—I am sure my experience might have been different if it were a different type of job, perhaps working with a smaller, less chaotic business. I will say to others, go in with eyes open. Today’s work world can be fast-paced, demanding, and tough on one’s back and feet!
For myself, watching my twentysomething colleagues try to start their careers while working multiple part-time jobs left me newly appreciative of being in my mid-60s with a TIPS ladder and the blissful privilege of working on my own creative endeavors while sleeping in on Mondays.
Questions for forum readers:
This article revealed an entirely different lesson for me, and it extends beyond new jobs and job changes. I learned that when you take a new path in life, whether in work, your personal life or just your hobbies and avocations, there are inevitably a lot of new things to learn, and sometimes identifying what those things are is a new thing to learn itself. Life can be so complex that every move, however inconsequential, requires you to recalibrate your needs and how to satisfy them to be a success. At the same time, I realize that no matter how new or how obscure, or how complicated that new learning is, there are ways to obtain it. Usually, they just require you to think about what you need, and it will be there, from a friend or coworker, or from a library, of from a place like Amazon, or from a local community source. If you prepare ahead of time, the new world you enter will be less fearful and more rewarding.
Here is my work history, at 16 1962 a part time job I kept until after college at 22. Then each summer additional full time jobs of all sorts and once in concrete construction, that was the most difficult job I ever had and taught me that going to college to become an electronic engineer was a very good idea. I also worked as a Co-op student to pay for my college. Mission accomplished in 1969. From there I worked in the inkjet industry from when no one knew what inkjet was until my official retirement 12-31-2024 after 55 years. However, I was one of the first folks to work from home in 1994 as an independent agent. So I then could work as much as I wanted and in the 2005 era took 30 to 60 days vacation and more, so that was my ease into retirement. With the internet I could work from anywhere, even a cruise ship. The last 10 years of work was totally part time like less than 10 hours a week. Now at 78, I offer my skills for the last 3 years to help all the folks were I live in Independent Living with their electronic needs, their computers, iPads, smartphones, cable TV, Modems with Wi-Fi and their many software questions. For shoes, I like Kizik’s and Sketchers. I let young people know, the goal for work is to find something you really like to do, so your work is Fun!
What a work history–you are a person who got a lot of pleasure and satisfaction out of your various jobs. I agree that working from home really eases a person into retirement. The best piece of advice I got from a former colleague who worked from home was: “Whatever you do, don’t turn on the TV during the day!” (Of course, the internet has sort of obviated that.)
When I retired 10 years, I kept all of my very expensive work shoes, thinking I would use them. What I found was that I seldom needed “good” shoes (or suits and ties, etc.), and when I did wear them, it became an increasingly painful experience.
I haven’t quite migrated to wide soled shoes with Velcro straps, but I am definitely committed to the newer “step-in” variety that are now available in many styles.
A thought for those who buy individual stocks: think about putting a bit of money in SKX (Sketchers USA). Judging by the comments, the Boomers are going to drive a growth surge in the sale of step-in shoes!
Shoes! Every woman can relate. 10 years before I retired, I left a more “corporate” fundraising non-profit for the directorship of a residential program for artists in the redwoods of California. A performance artist had created a piece on my 70 pairs of shoes—primarily high-heels. They, along with 25 suits went to Dress for Success. My knees thank me every day. And no more waking up with foot cramps.
The last 10 years of my career were spent in Uggs, Merrell hiking shoes and slippers. Now, as a full-time traveller I live in German walking shoes, hiking shoes and sandals with great arch support. The idea of wearing heels again gives me the heebie-jeebies!
Good for you for trying something new! And good for you for quitting that thing. I often wonder if the urge to work for anyone, for any reason, will ever appeal to me. I see some volunteer board work in my future. But that’s about it.
Thanks for “Good for you for trying something new!” I am really glad I did try something totally new to me—I learned a lot about myself and other people. I also wrote down a lot of “funny to me” moments that still make me smile.
One of those funny moments early on was realizing that the kind of “nice” slacks I was wearing to the job were totally wrong because they didn’t have pockets. I needed four pockets for clipping gadgets onto: my walkie talkie, my store phone, my inventory scanner, and my iPhone for doing internet searches for customers who couldn’t remember what they were looking for. So, early on I had to find a moment to go out and buy multiple pairs of on-sale jeans in different colors. There went two day’s pay!
I volunteer at a food bank and stand for 3 hours helping folk…yes I now have new shoes!
I now think that standing in one place is harder than walking. But that can’t be true, can it? I do know that when I could move around at that retail job, rather than just stand in place for hours at the cash register, I felt much happier.
This is awesome. I’m about to retire and have been joking for a while that I want a part-time job at Trader Joe’s because I love it so much. Everyone knows this about me. If I serve something to guests or bring something to a social gathering, someone will say, “…Trader Joe’s?”—and about 50% of the time, they’ll be right. I’m in a Facebook group called Trader Joe’s Obsessed, and those are my people (except for their weird obsession with the collectible shopping bags).
Anyway, my husband rolls his eyes when I say this and says, “If you want to work, why not just keep the job you already have?” So thanks for the reality check on working retail!
I was a lot like you, dreaming about working in a store surrounded by products I love. When I first broached my “dream” to my husband, he was a little more direct than your husband. His exact words were: “Are you crazy?!”
One of my daughter’s (who lives in Orange County) prized possessions is a Trader Joe’s NH (where she grew up) themed shopping bag.
My first job at 16 involved stocking shelves and cutting, weighing, and bagging huge blocks or wheels of cheese for a hippie grocery store which is still thriving in Maryland. On your feet all day. After that I pumped gas (during an oil crisis with lines and fights), then bussed tables in a Mexican restaurant and worked a hotel front desk. So I have a measure of appreciation for work like your brief experiment with retail on-your-feet-all-shift, dealing with customers. It takes a toll.
In college I became fascinated with computers and fell in love with writing software. Over time that turned into building and leading engineering teams who built products and services for millions or billions of people. Unless you’ve experienced that, you can’t imagine the pace, intensity, hours, and stress. I loved it. But it too takes a toll, of a different sort.
The only way I would now sacrifice my precious time to again spend time for money would be in my own business and doing something I find deeply meaningful. Three years into retirement, which started a bit earlier than planned, I really enjoy life without work.
Re: “The only way I would now sacrifice my precious time to again spend time for money would be in my own business and doing something I find deeply meaningful.” Have you ever tried to brainstorm an idea for that kind of business, even just for fun?
On the difficulty of retail, I have a life philosophy one part of which states, never underestimate the difficulty of another persons job.
Great philosophy about never underestimating the difficulty of another person’s job. That’s a cousin to my friend Stacey’s signature tag on all her emails: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”
Comfortable shoes. My obsession for 50 years as a soccer player and more recently as a barbershop singer with short-fiber neuropathy in my feet.
I have to stand in one spot for 90 minutes straight with the chorale, which sets my feet on fire, so I buy shoes with thick soles and great support. I recently lucked into a pair of Skechers Relaxed Fit slip-ons with memory foam insoles on the clearance rack at Marshall’s (I refuse to pay more than $25 for shoes) that I wore for rehearsal last night.
Like Edmund I lived in running shoes for many years, but they don’t work for me anymore. Nowadays for walking around I wear Nevados or Denalis, always bought when Big 5 Sports has a sale going on. I recently picked up a pair of black Nevados for a performance (nobody’s looking at your shoes), deliberately a half-size too big to accommodate my numb toes, and added some Dr. Scholl’s Float-On-Air insoles to compensate. They worked great.
More information than anybody wanted, I’m sure.
Love all the footwear recommendations! I’m gearing up for a trip where I’ll be walking down a lot of country paths, and climbing some big hills. A different assignment than standing in place for hours in my pillowy Sketcher sneakers. Luckily I have some well-broken-in (but heavy) Ahnu hiking shoes I can break out for this walking trip.
Have a great trip! I had to retire my wonderful-but-heavy Vasques about 10 years ago after an Achilles injury (they still live in the garage), but on a recent trip I did miles of hiking in a $21 pair of Denali hiking shoes. Light, super comfy, quick-drying and easy to toss away when they’re worn out.
That’s a great tip on those Denali hiking shoes, Mike. I would like a lighter walking shoe, and I have a month before my trip so I would have the time to break them in.
Almost all of my father’s career was intellectual. By his definition, he taught me that one could choose from manual labor at the bottom to pure intellectual careers at the top and every combination in between. He made sure that during the summer of my 17th year I was exposed to various very heavy and mostly dangerous manual labor work. This taught me what I didn’t want to do and so I ended up with an almost entirely intellectual career.
To your question, I mostly retired at age 47. Was fun for several months, then boring for several months then hideously soul-crushing for two more months. At that point I returned to working FTx2 – two full-time jobs in my chosen career. I maintained that level of work for 12 years more, then dropped down to 1 FT position for 2 more years and retired for good at age 61. No regrets.
A slight aside. When I “retired” at 47 my taxable income decreased to 25% of the previous. That one year I didn’t come close to reaching the SS wage base for taxation purposes. Every other year I worked I exceeded the wage base number. That one year made a significant difference in my monthly SS take now – I’m not at the top.
You have some good learnings–from your father, from your early retirement, and from your return to “FTx2” work. Now we’ll have to hear more about your “no regrets” second retirement at age 61!
Asics are the best shoes for my flat, plantar faucitis inflicted feet. I worked for a beer wholesaler, so spent a great deal of time inside supermarkets, so yes, I know it’s not the kind of low pressure job that a retiree might want.
If retail interests you, a small boutique store may be more to you liking.
Retail seems to be all about stocking and moving merchandise, no matter what they’re selling. I now know that for my purposes a boutique store would no doubt have been better–more flexible, more personal–but I’m sure there are other headaches about working at a smaller place that I can’t even imagine.
Laura, thank you for your interesting post here and for the link to your earlier TIPS article, I had not understood much about TIPS prior to your post.
With the passing of Social Security Fairness Act, my husband is now eligible to receive a very small benefit. Prior to the SSFA, that benefit was almost completely reduced to zero by the Government Pension Offset so he had not worried about qualifying. The only problem now was that he lacked 4 quarters of earnings to be eligible. So off to work he went. He was lucky to get hired to work during spring training for a professional baseball team. This has proven to be a fun job! I’ve observed that he has more pep in his step lately and I know that he has really enjoyed being around other “retired” coworkers. He gets a kick out of being able to bring a smile to young fans by giving them the baseballs he’s collected from overlooked fly balls. But at 71 after being retired for many years, the many hours on his feet has begun to take a toll. Although I have doubts that he’ll reach his SS goal this year at minimum wage and with the seasonal aspect of the job and our upcoming 6 weeks’ trip to NM, but it’s been a great experience for him. And I have not minded the bonus of some time alone at home! Oh – and Skechers are also our “go-to” footwear.
Jan, my wife’s government pension would have reduced her SS spousal benefit before the SSFA passed. But my understanding is that GPO applies to spousal and survivor benefits, and WEP applies to your own “earned” SS benefit. Therefore, the required 40 quarters of minimum earnings apply to WEP, but not to GPO. Did you mean to refer to GPO or WEP, or am I missing something?
Nice post, Laura. It reminds me of an old piece about seasonal work from another retiree. I’m not yet retired, so I’ll have to field questions one and four.
In my teens, I worked part-time in the shoe department of a low-end retail chain. I didn’t make much money, but I must have picked up some useful lessons. I just can’t recall what they were. No reflection on the industry, just not suited to me. My wife, on the other hand, has fond memories of working at Nordstrom in southern California in-between teaching school and working as a physical therapist.
For shoes, the best for your feet are runners. I know they aren’t fashionable everywhere, but doesn’t wearing them anyway signal you are a “free spirit who sets her own fashion”? Don’t shop for a brand, go to a store with many styles and spend time walking or jogging in a number of pairs until you find the one you like. Or if you have access to a store with trained sales person, have them help you.
Despite that advice, I’ve worked in the best dress shoe that Rockport sells for years. I get a decent looking shoe with good construction that is okay for my normal feet. But I’m moving toward running shoes for all occasions. I even wear them to church when I visit my daughter for a long weekend.
Laura, thanks for an engaging post, and congratulations to your husband. I was able to do some consulting after stopping work full time, and that worked out well. It slowed down during Covid, but there might be some opportunities later this year. I miss getting a paycheck (even a small one) and the intellectual challenge.
I know a few people who moved from professional positions to retail (Home Depot and Costco) who were surprised at how hard the work was. The schedules were also difficult, requiring nights and weekends. One of my goals in retirement was to have more autonomy over my schedule, leaving time for grandkids, volunteering, and travel. I’m glad we have the resources to allow that.
I’m guessing that autonomy is the golden goal for most of us in retirement. But it is hard to get used to not having a regular paycheck.
This year is my first year with no earned income and therefore no way to contribute to our IRAs. Which is kind of a shame considering the current market downturn. I remember how during the 2020 downturn the maximized contributions to IRAs and 401(k) helped to keep our retirement account balances flush.
Perhaps I could work just enough to earn the $16,000 needed for our IRA contributions. At my states minimum wage of $12.48 per hour that’s 1,282 hours. The typical retail wage of $16.00 per hour lowers this to 1,000 hours. Perhaps a retail job is not such a great plan.
My pre-retirement salaried engineering compensation came to about $80 per hour in actual money (not counting benefits). That would be only 200 hours of work for the IRA contributions. But so far finding some kind of side-gig doing what I did in my career seems unlikely. But being able to also contribute to my SEP IRA would be sweet.
And there is still the dream of creating my own business where I can apply the knowledge and skills acquired during my engineering career. My 1 year retired anniversary is approaching. Time to get serious.
I only wear Rockport XCS walkers which I buy 3 or 4 pairs at a time. I keep a clean pair for “going out” and an everyday pair that gets replaced only some time after the soles have been duct taped to the uppers.
I agree with this: “The typical retail wage of $16.00 per hour lowers this to 1,000 hours. Perhaps a retail job is not such a great plan.” I think buying multiples of the comfy shoe that works best for you is a great idea!
I worked in some capacity for a total of 58 years, so no, I haven’t considered working full-time in retirement. I began part time at age 16, then jumped to full-time at 17. Went to college nights while employed. For a few years I worked full time and also had a part time night job, both in engineering capacities. I began my first true business venture at age 32. Work week frequently hit 60 hours. It was an unusual business with 30 continuous days of work each 16 hours long, sometimes longer. This was followed by normal 40-60 work weeks. At age 47 I added a serious, time-consuming volunteer position for about 5 years. At age 63 I began a phased, gradual retirement but again added a serious volunteer position (1,000 hours per year in a large HOA which was a PUD). Not yet done, so I also added business and financial writing (paid) at age 64. Health issues at age 77 curtailed that, so I became the “sound engineer” for a 12-piece band in 2024.
I love your creative outlet of being an engineer for a 12-piece band at age 77—fun!
I’ve done some volunteer work that gradually got demanding, but they never asked me to punch a time clock (which nowadays means clicking a clock image on a computer screen) like that retail job.
None of my volunteer work required my keeping time records and I avoided doing so. They were all open-ended agreements with specified minimum deliverables, some dictated by calendar events. I focused on that and enrolling and supporting other capable individuals. That’s how one commitment grew to 1,000 hours in a year. I took my fiduciary duties seriously and demanded that other board members do likewise or leave.
When the children reached young adulthood, my mother returned to full time work at a bank. After a number of years she went to work at Cubs Park, which was not a full time job. After raising 6 children she enjoyed the work and with the Cubs there were perks and the celebrities, too.
My father worked in the “back office” in retail. Long hours, particularly during the holiday season. It was a thankless job dealing with credit and collection issues.
My un-retirement work is in a local CPA firm preparing personal and small business tax returns. I am mostly working with people my own age and I set my own work hours. We are in the peak of tax season and I am working about 40 hours a week through April 15 which is nowhere close to the full time hours I worked when I was younger. Unlike many work places in 2025 I even have my own office primarily because the position I filled was caused by the death of the previous occupant.
New Balance is my footwear of choice because of great arch support. I would never have imagined forty years ago that I would spend the current prices of quality shoes but cheap shoes typically make my feet hurt.
I worked mostly full time for about three years in the restaurant industry after military service as I was completing my college degree back in the 1970’s. Working such jobs to fund college costs does not seem to be possible in today’s world.
Being on my feet all day at a job now would not be a choice I would make unless I had to do so to meet basis needs. I hope such need will not occur but life events can change everything. Having a skill or profession that allows flexibility for reemployment is a lot like the benefit of an insurance policy that often is best if you never have to claim a benefit.
I can’t imagine how kids can fund much of their college costs these days with the kinds of jobs my friends had back in the ’70s and ’80s.
I agree with this: “Having a skill or profession that allows flexibility for reemployment is a lot like the benefit of an insurance policy that often is best if you never have to claim a benefit.”
Great piece! I think you just underlined the point I was trying to make on the Social Security thread about demanding jobs and older workers.
Footwear – I have worn one style of Ecco sandal for years – pairs have been round the world with me – but that model seems to have been discontinued (grrr). My feet are very hard to fit, and the only sneakers I buy are Saucony Jazz.
Sorry you had discovered your “perfect comfortable shoe” and that it got discontinued. Walkers and older workers of the world need those shoes!
Laura, I did know that retail jobs are very hard; standing long hours on your feet and being at your best and most cordial and accommodating, at all times. Every year I worked part time during the Christmas season, after working all day at my full time job and putting in a full day on Saturdays.
One year I was delighted when I landed a job at Bloomingdale’s in New York City and thought good fortune was mine when they told me my job was to be an Information person. I sat on a high stool—blessed relief from standing—with a long red sash across my body (beauty pageant style) which said INFORMATION in gold lettering. I thought how easy is this. Not! Number one question….”where’s Santa Claus” Often having to repeat my instructions, I went through a box of cough lozenges at every session. It was non stop talking, and exhausting. Still, when I look back on those days as a hard working young girl, it taught me to respect the money I earned. But I’m glad you had the option of packing it in.
I think a lot of our earliest jobs taught us tons of lessons about work and responsibility. On that note, I distinctly remember one of my feelings during the training for that recent retail job was, “Oh no, I don’t want to/need to go through all this again!”
I did keep my sense of humor AND some cough drops handy for all the non-stop talking with customers. I still think it’s a miracle that I was the only employee that didn’t contract the flu in those four months.