Career change · 6 min read
Can you change careers at 60?
Changing career at 60: realistic options, how to handle age bias, what to know about pensions and Social Security, and how to test a new role first.
The short answer
Yes. Many people change careers at 60, often toward work that is more flexible, meaningful or less physically demanding. The best options usually build on deep experience, such as consulting, training, mentoring, advisory and part-time specialist roles, or are fields that actively recruit older workers, such as tutoring, care, customer service, public sector and charity roles. Age discrimination is illegal in the UK and, for people 40 and over, in the US, but bias still exists, so lead with current skills and recent results. Check how working longer affects your pension or Social Security before you decide.
Key takeaways
- Many changes at 60 are toward flexibility, purpose or less physical work.
- Experience-led roles such as consulting, training and mentoring suit this stage.
- Age discrimination is illegal, but show recent skills to counter bias.
- Check pension and Social Security effects before changing hours or pay.
On this pageWhy people change at 60
Why people change at 60
Common reasons are wanting less stress or fewer hours, a body that can't keep up with physical work, redundancy, wanting to do something meaningful before retirement, or needing more income for longer. The right move depends on which of these is driving you, so name it first.
Options that work well
| Option | Why it suits | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting or advisory | Sells your judgement directly | Former operations director advising small manufacturers |
| Training and teaching | Turns experience into teaching | Engineer teaching at a further education college |
| Mentoring and coaching | Flexible, people-focused | HR manager becomes a career coach |
| Care and support work | High demand, meaningful | Office worker becomes a support worker |
| Public sector and charity | Often flexible and age-inclusive | Accountant becomes a charity finance officer |
| Part-time specialist | Keeps skills in use with fewer hours | Payroll specialist working three days a week |
Handling age bias
- Show the last 10 to 15 years in detail; summarise earlier roles in a line.
- Highlight recent learning and the tools you use now.
- Lead with energy and curiosity in interviews: talk about what you want to learn.
- Use your network. Referrals carry more weight than any CV tweak.
- Know your rights: in the US the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects people 40 and over; in the UK, age is a protected characteristic.
Money questions to check first
In the UK, State Pension age is 66 and is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028, depending on your date of birth. Working doesn't stop your State Pension, and deferring it increases it. Workplace pensions have their own rules on access and contributions. In the US, full retirement age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later; claiming earlier while working can reduce benefits temporarily if earnings pass a limit. A short session with a pensions or financial adviser before changing hours can save a costly mistake.
Test before you commit
Volunteer for a month in the field you're drawn to, take a short contract, or shadow someone for a day. Illustrative example: Maureen, 61, a retiring bank branch manager, volunteers with a debt advice charity two mornings a week. Within six months she's offered a paid part-time adviser role, using the same people skills with more purpose and fewer hours.
What happens to the gaps
Most posts ask for something your CV doesn't show yet. OffLadder CV names those gaps, and Laddie, our AI coach, turns each one into three steps:
- Learn the skill: a short lesson on what the post asks for, starting from the basics.
- Try the work: a 15-minute task taken from the job itself, so you have a real example to talk about.
- Practise the interview: a five-question mock interview for that role, weighted to the parts you're least sure of.
The conversation stays in your OffLadder account. Once you've done the work, add it to your CV in your own words, and the next post you tailor for can point to it.
Questions people ask
- What jobs are good for people over 60?
- Roles that value judgement and reliability: tutoring, training, consulting, project and programme management, bookkeeping, customer advice, care and support work, charity roles, tour guiding and public sector roles. Part-time and seasonal work suits many people who want to phase into retirement.
- Will employers hire me at 60?
- Many will, particularly in sectors with staff shortages and in organisations with age-inclusive policies. Applications get further when they show recent learning, comfort with current tools and a clear reason for the move. Networks matter even more at this stage, because referrals bypass the screening where bias is most likely.
- Is it worth retraining at 60?
- Short, practical training often is: a teaching assistant course, a coaching qualification, a bookkeeping certificate. Long, expensive degrees are harder to justify unless you're doing it for interest. Pick training with a clear route to work you could start within a year.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Age discrimination · US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- State Pension age · GOV.UK
- Retirement age and benefit reduction · US Social Security Administration
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.