The new retirement: thriving in your golden years

Now that people are living healthier lives well into old age, more retirees are choosing to spend their retirement years in non-traditional ways. Read on to discover the various ways that retirees are thriving during their golden years.

Some retirees opt to work part-time even after they've officially retired from their career or job.

Usually this decision comes about after the person has retired for a while, and then they find themselves with more time on their hands than they know what to do with.

If you think a part-time job during your retirement might be right for you, check your local job listings for employment opportunities that don't require a lot of physical exertion. Examples of ideal jobs for seniors include grocery store clerk or bagger, library assistant, and retail gift-wrapping clerk.

Since many retirees already have enough money put away to last them for the rest of their lives, they choose to help society through volunteering.

Volunteering is a great way to stay involved in the community, socialize, get exercise, and feel good about yourself. There are lots of organizations dedicated to helping match up volunteers with the groups that need them.

Some ideas for volunteering include reading to the elderly in nursing homes, helping at a local food bank, storytelling with sick children in the hospital, and holding babies in the hospital nursery.

Some people just can't get enough of work, even after they retire.

Though they may have had a second career mid-life, some seniors go on to have third careers in their elder years.

These careers could include playing piano or singing at community centres, doing mechanical repairs on watches, motors or bicycles, or anything else that they may have had an interest in early in life but never had the chance to explore before now.

A lifetime of knowledge is a shame to throw away just because a person has retired. So many retirees are using their knowledge to build consulting careers.

Consultants work on their own schedule, usually do so from home, and are generally highly compensated for their expertise.

Retirees who parlay their vast accumulation of knowledge in a specific niche will usually give input on business dealings, deliver speeches, or review and comment on documents or drawings that newcomers to their profession have created.

Just because you're retiring doesn't mean you must or should give up on doing the things in life that give you the most pleasure.

Consider how you want to spend your retirement years, and remember that you no longer have to go the traditional route in your golden years.