What to Do After Retirement in India to Earn Money?

March 15, 2024
what to do after retirement in india

Quick Summary

  • After retirement in India, individuals can explore work-from-home opportunities such as freelancing, online tutoring, content writing, or consulting in their expertise areas.
  • They can also consider starting an online business, investing in stocks, or pursuing hobbies like art or writing, potentially generating income and staying mentally engaged.

Table of Contents

A working professional spends the majority of their life waking up early in the morning, getting ready to go to the workplace and doing their assigned work with full dedication. And once their retirement time is near in their jobs, they don’t know what to do without this routine and wonder what to do after retirement in India.

Some choose to spend time and their retirement life with their families, which is great. However, some people choose to work even after retirement. And if you are one of those, this article is exactly for you.

Working after retirement keeps you physically active and on your toes. Not only does it make you financially independent, but also helps you have a sense of purpose in life. You do not have to dedicate a lot of hours to earn money after retirement. Most of the opportunities we have listed are part-time, or with minimum time investment.

Moreover, for a happy retirement, one should have a sound financial plan, so as to not run out of money when it is most required in your old age. Therefore, after the age of 60, or when you retire, having a source of income becomes extremely important to have a good time.

As we are going to enlist some of the best things to do after retirement, so keep reading the article.

Best 15 Options: What to Do After Retirement in India

No matter whatever industry you worked in before your retirement, this list consists of some of the great jobs that anyone with the right skills and knowledge can do in their life after retirement:

  1. Typing Jobs
  2. Translator
  3. Consultancy
  4. Freelancing
  5. Tutor
  6. Subject Expert
  7. Blogger/ Content Writer
  8. Babysitting
  9. Telephonic Jobs
  10. Bookkeeping
  11. Virtual Assistant
  12. Online Store
  13. Real Estate Investor
  14. Resume Writer
  15. Business/ Start-up

1. Typing Jobs

Typing jobs means working as a typist. Many companies require a typist who can type their document, transcribe audio files into text, and prepare digital and physical paperwork. These are also known as data entry jobs, as the primary work of typists is to enter the data.

Skills Required:

The various skills that are required to be eligible for a typing job are:

  • Fast speed typing, it’s crucial that you have a minimum 40-50 words per minute of typing speed.
  • Basic computer knowledge is a must too; you should be able to use Excel, Word and software like CRM with ease.
  • Good written and verbal communication skills are necessary so that you can type any file format easily. Whether it’s’ audio files or written.
  • Command over language and good knowledge of grammar and punctuation is necessary too.
  • Proofreading and editing skills are quite important too.

How To Start?

If you have some or all of the listed skills, without worrying about what to do after retirement then you can do these jobs in India. You can start working online. There are various job portals on which you can find the vacancy for typing jobs. Examples of some such platforms are Naukri.com, Frellancer.com, Fiverr, Upwork, Rev etc. You can register on any of the platforms and start working.

2. Translator

The job of a translator is also one of the best things to do after retirement, you just need to have the right skills. The responsibilities of a translator are to translate the audio, videos, text and verbal files from one language to another. You can work as a translator for a particular firm or give your services to individuals on a contract or hourly basis.

Skills Required:

As a translator, you need to be proficient in several skills, some of which are;

  • The most basic skill you need to have as a translator is a strong knowledge of the languages. You should have written, verbal and listening proficiency in the language.
  • Good knowledge of the cultural background of the said language is crucial too.
  • Good research skills, so that you can stay up-to-date with new slang words, terms and cultural references.
  • Computer knowledge is a must too, in today’s time most of the translation works are done online. So, you need to have good computer knowledge.

How To Start?

First of all, you need to get certified that you are eligible to work as a translator, and for that, you need to pass the examination in that language. After that, you can start by applying to translation firms that work with foreign clients. You can also work as a freelance translator and can do the work of translating, texts, audio files, etc for others.

3. Consultancy

Wondering what to do after retirement in India, then you can give consultancy services to various businesses and individuals to grow online. The youth of the nation need the right mentors who can guide them to do better in their careers. You can be that guide for them, if you know a particular industry, you can become a consultant in that field. There are several ways to become a consultant.

Skills Required:

If you are choosing consultancy as a job for life after retirement then you need to possess certain skills, like:

  • Communication skills are one of the most necessary skills in this job area. As you will be communicating with various types of clients every day.
  • Analytical and quantitative skills to gauge the situation of the clients and consult them accordingly.
  • Relevant knowledge of the current trends of the industry.
  • Problem-solving skills so that you can understand clients’ problems and provide them with the right solution.

How To Start?

There are various ways you can start working as a consultant some of the ways are:

  • Become an Online Influencer- You can become an online influencer and give some life lessons to other people who need help to shape their lives in a better way. This will help you gather followers so that companies are also attracted and sponsor you for advertising.
  • Give career counselling- Guide students with career counselling through webinars or online meetings through various portals. Nowadays, students need proper career guidance that will help them go ahead in life and be successful. So, as you are already experienced, you can always go forward and help them through an online platform.

4. Freelancing- A great option for what to do after retirement in India

Well, you can start freelancing and do the same work you used to do in the office by sitting at your home and being your boss. Freelancing means that you become self-employed and work for other firms/ individuals on a contract basis. You can do some freelance work sitting back at home, like giving consultancy support with your expertise in that domain and writing guest posts for other business websites.

Skills Required:

If freelancing is in your retirement ideas list to work for, then you need some of these skills:

  • Communication skills, because you would be pitching to your ideal clients.
  • Negotiation skills are also a must so that you can clearly state things like work terms, payment methods, time of contract, etc.
  • Industry knowledge of whatever niche you decide to freelance for.
  • Computer skills because every work is being done online.
  • Creativity is an important skill to have for freelancers, as you are required to provide unique solutions to client’s problems.

How To Start?

You can earn a handsome amount of money by freelancing. If your work is good, it will help you create more work for yourself, which may help you earn more. Here are some of the examples-

  • Become a financial advisor and work for customers and companies as a freelancer.
  • Help start-ups with branding through graphic designing, such as designing logos, designing visiting cards etc.
  • Give web development and application development services to various start-ups online.
  • Give digital marketing services to various start-ups/companies. There are a lot of things to explore in digital marketing such as search engine optimization, email marketing etc..

5. Tutor

If you like to teach students or have good command over any subject, then tutoring is one of the best things to do after retirement. As a tutor, you will be required to teach students online via the internet or you can open a coaching centre at home.

Skills Required:

Having bookish knowledge is not enough to earn good as a tutor, you need to have these skills too.

  • Patience is an important skill for tutors, as you need to handle every kind of student. Shy, naughty, talkative etc.
  • Good command over the subject you will be tutoring for. If you have command over your language then only students will learn from you.
  • Leadership qualities, as a tutor you need to lead students to their goals.
  • Technical knowledge, if you are teaching online then you need it.

How To Start?

You can start teaching online as a private tutor through the portals provided by established companies or through your portal. These are known as live classes. Many companies offer an online tutoring platform for you to teach and earn online without any investment. Even if you are not into technology so much, you can always sit back home, teach students at your home batch-wise and become a private tutor. Even if you were not a teacher previously, you might still opt for this if you want to be a teacher.

6. Subject Expert

You can join Chegg India as an expert to answer questions asked by students related to different subjects. It is one of the best ways to earn if you are wondering what to do after retirement in India. You can register as an expert for the subject of your choice and expertise. Benefits include-

  • You get the freedom to choose the subjects you have expertise in.
  • Flexible working hours
  • Work from anywhere
  • Networking with other experts
  • Timely payments

As an expert, you get paid for each question you answer, so you can easily earn quite a good amount of money depending on the number of questions you answer in a month.

Earn Online with Chegg No Investment Required

Skills Required: Expertise in any subject

How To Start: Simply sign up and complete the registration process

7. Blogger/ Content Writer

Deciding what to do after retirement, starting a blog or becoming a content writer might be a good idea. The main motto of a blogger or content writer is gathering customers by influencing and informing them through their articles. As a blogger, you can earn a lot online.

Skills Required:

As a blogger or content writer, you need to possess these skills, to become successful.

  • Adaptability is one of the most crucial skills to become a successful content writer. You need to adapt to the needs of clients.
  • Research skills are important to writing accurate and relevant content.
  • Creativity, to create unique and plagiarism-free content for your clients.
  • SEO knowledge is a must, if you want your written content to be shown on Google.
  • Digital marketing and knowledge of social media.

How To Start?

You can write books and publish them. The book can be on a specific field of study related to work, life experiences, storybooks, etc. You can also write an E-book and sell it online. Previously publishing and selling a book was difficult and needed investment. Nowadays, you can easily publish a book online and sell it to earn money. You can find writing work on platforms like Freelancer.com, Fiverr, Pepper Content etc.

8. Babysitting

If you are good at caring for babies, you can become a babysitter and give babysitting or daycare services at your home.

Skills Required:

Babysitting is a task of responsibility and requires certain skills. If you have these skills then you can work as a babysitter.

  • Patience to sit and take of every need and tantrums of children.
  • Basic First Aid knowledge is required to become a babysitter. So that in emergencies you can take care of children.
  • Empathetic skills are important, to feel the emotions and requirements of kids.
  • Good Stamina, so that you can run around and play with children without getting tired frequently.

How To Start?

You can become a babysitter as well as a paid keeper online and keep pets for others when they go out for work or on a vacation. These are very good jobs to do in life after retirement. These also help you to stay connected with people and stay socially active.

9. Telephonic Jobs

Are you good at convincing people? If people listen when you talk, then doing a telephone job might be one of a good retirement ideas for you. In that case, you can become a Customer Service Representative and handle clients on calls from sitting at your home.

Skills Required:

Telephonic jobs require some specific skill-set that you require.

  • Communication skills are at the top of the list, as you need to converse with clients it’s a must-have skill.
  • Persuasion skills, so that you can positively persuade customers to buy or subscribe to your company’s product and services.
  • Positive tone of talking.
  • Active listening skills, to listen and solve customers’ queries.
  • Problem-solving skills are essential so that you can leave customers satisfied after a call.

How To Start?

Nowadays, many companies outsource customer service representatives, and they need tele-customer representatives who can talk and convince people to buy their products or services. You can apply to such companies. So, if you have great communication skills and the ability to persuade people then do consider telephonic jobs as the answer to your question of what to do after retirement in India.

10. Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is also a great answer to what to do after retirement in India question. Every company needs a bookkeeper, who can maintain records of their daily expenses and payrolls. And the best part is, today, you can do this job from your home.

Skills Required:

Every company needs a bookkeeper. However, to get a job as a bookkeeper in any company you need to have a few skills and knowledge.

  • Basic Accounting knowledge is a must to do the work of bookkeeping.
  • Knowledge of using Excel sheets and Tally.
  • Data entry skills, as you will keep a record of daily transactions.
  • Accuracy in the calculations and overall working.
  • Time-management skills to manage multiple financial tasks at a time.

How To Start?

You can provide your bookkeeping services as a freelancer or can apply to a company that needs a bookkeeper.

11. Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant is also one of the best things to do after your retirement in your job. As a virtual assistant, you need to do tasks like scheduling, making timetables, arranging paperwork, coordinating meetings and calls etc.

Skills Required:

The responsibilities of a virtual assistant are quite important for business. That is why a virtual assistant must have these following skills.

  • Time-management skills are necessary skills required to manage everyday tasks.
  • Communication skills, so that you can communicate everything virtually.
  • Negotiating and persuasion skills.
  • Proactiveness.

So, if you think you have these skills in you then you can become a virtual assistant. It is a good pay job as you can earn an average salary of 3.2 lakh per annum

How To Start?

To start working as a virtual assistant you need to complete your course for virtual assistants. After that create an online portfolio showcasing your works and skills, and build an online presence on platforms like LinkedIn, Upwork etc. You can either start working as a freelance virtual assistant or apply for jobs.

12. Online Store

If you have a calling for art & craft and want to use your skills to make money in your life after retirement then opening an online shop is a good idea. This income source does need little investment but once established it can give you great returns.

Skills Required:

Opening an online store is no less than opening an offline one. It requires the same or more amount of work, dedication and skills.

  • Planning and Research skills. So that you can research the market and make a business plan accordingly.
  • Copywriting skills to write attractive and sale-making copy.
  • Graphic designing to create digital pamphlets and advertisements for online stores.

How To Start?

You can make decorations like pen stands, posters, fridge magnets or jewellery like earrings, necklaces etc. And sell them on online platforms like Etsy, Amazon Handmade and Ebay.

13. Real Estate Investor

Real estate investing is one of the best things to do after retirement, why? Because of its high returns. Investing in real estate is highly profitable, you can rent out your property, can invest in commercial properties and earn a good monthly income.

Skills Required:

To become a good real estate investor you need to learn certain skills.

  • Finance Analysis of various estate companies, so that you can make the right investments.
  • Risk-taking capacity, to see the ups and downs of the market.
  • Patience and not making decisions in a rush.
  • Marketing and communicating to connect with the right people.

How To Start?

After you have gained a good knowledge of the real estate market, make your investment strategy. Connect with the right people who know about estate agencies and choose investments to make.

14. Resume Writer

As an experienced professional, you might know the best way to write a resume or CV, then why not use it to earn some money? As a resume writer your work will be to write a resume for individuals.

Skills Required:

If the job as a resume writer is the answer to your question of what to do after retirement in India. Then you need to have these skills.

  • Typing skills to write a resume.
  • Basic computer knowledge to write a resume on a computer.
  • Knowledge of current job trends.
  • Knowledge of Resume Format as per different regions and industries.

How To Start?

If you know how to write a job-getting resume, then you can become a resume writer for a career consulting firm or any individual. You can charge every month and hourly rates too, that depends on you. To become a high-paying resume writer, you need to keep up with current job trends and have a good command of the language and grammar. And you are set to earn in your life after retirement.

Explore more about Resume and Cover Letter

15. Business/ Start-up

If you have a question on what to do after retirement in India, then you can always start your own agency/ company providing solutions with your domain or any other business you like/look up to.

Skills Required:

Starting a business is a big thing. And as an entrepreneur, one requires many soft and hard skills. Such as;

  • Financial management to manage business earnings and expenditures.
  • Planning skills to make business plans.
  • Communication skills.
  • Leadership skills to lead your team members.
  • Negotiation skills.

How To Start?

For starting a business, you need a good team, plan, capital etc. To make a business successful, you need to know almost everything like Marketing, HR skills, technical skills, etc. You need to have leadership skills. But always remember that doing a business/ start-up is the most difficult option with great risk. You might or not succeed. But if you succeed, you will reach heights that you can’t reach by any of the above options.

After Retirement Planning

To work or not to work in life after retirement totally depends on you. Because when you do jobs after retirement, the goal is not just to make money, but to live life with independence and dignity. For senior citizens, planning their after-retirement life is crucial for their happiness and peace.

However, if you are still young, you should remember that having a long-term financial plan helps you plan an early retirement, as well as prepare for any rough days that life might throw at you.

All in all, if you have decided to work after retirement and are wondering what to do after retirement in India, the above-listed jobs are some of the great ways to start.

Earn in Six-figures with chegg

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do immediately after retirement?

If you have just retired and thinking about what to do after retirement in India. Then, the first thing you should do is take a rest. Go on vacation, experience the things you missed earlier and yes, find a good-paying part-time job to pay for all these things. This way you will be able to enjoy your life after retirement in the best way.

How can I pass my time after retirement in India?

Start by taking care of yourself, all these years you only worked, it is time to give rest to your body and mind. Simultaneously, look for good part-time jobs to do from home, and invest in instruments with good monthly returns. So that your retirement life goes happily and smoothly.

What job can I do after retirement in India?

There are several jobs that you can do in your life after retirement. You can work as an Online Tutor, Bookkeeper, Tax Preparer, Babysitter and the list goes on. What matters is your choice, skills and knowledge. If you are interested in doing any job and have the required skills and knowledge for that then you can earn well in that field.

What should be avoided after retirement?

There are some mistakes that one should definitely avoid after their retirement. These mistakes are:

1. Not having post-retirement plans.
2. Not having enough savings for life after retirement or spending your saved income unnecessarily.
3. Not having a part-time job or additional source of income other than, Pension.
4. Not having good insurance plans, like Health insurance, Term insurance etc.
5. Investing in shares or instruments without having their knowledge.

To read more related articles, click here.

Got a question on this topic?

Related Articles