Retired but Looking for Cash? 6 Best Passive Income Streams for Seniors

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Although most seniors aren’t looking for full-time employment, many prefer to work after they retire. For some, it’s more of a necessity as they find that their retirement income isn’t quite at the level they want. But others may simply seek the mental health benefits that come from being engaged in an income-producing activity as they get older.

According to the National Institute of Health, “Continuing to work in later years enables many older people … to maintain their sense of meaning and goals in life and thus improves the level of their mental health and lowers their mortality rate.”

Regardless of the reason, working and generating income as a senior can offer significant benefits. To give you some ideas, here’s a list of passive income streams that require varying levels of effort to participate.

Rental Income

One of the most popular ways for seniors to generate passive income is through the use of rental real estate. If you already have a vacation home, for example, it’s easy to switch that to an income-producing asset for the times of the year that you’re not using it. Online platforms like Airbnb, VRBO and others make it easy to list your property and collect rental income year round. 

Another option is to simply rent out an extra room or two in your primary residence. Many seniors are empty nesters, either living by themselves or just with a spouse. If you have children who have moved away or simply find yourself living in a home that’s too big for you, you can easily generate anything from a few hundred to a few thousand extra dollars per month by allowing renters to use a room or two. 

Dividends and Interest

Many retirees rely on dividends and interest to complement their Social Security benefits. For some, this becomes their primary source of income. Dividends and interest payments offer many benefits from seniors, with one of the most important being that they are completely passive. Except for occasional monitoring, you won’t have to do much legwork to generate that income.

Depending on the type of investment you buy, this can also be a very safe source of income. U.S. Treasuries, for example, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government and are considered among the safest investments in the world.

YouTube Productions

Creating content for YouTube requires a bit more effort on your part than some of these other, more passive forms of income. It’s also true that you probably won’t generate much income, if any, until you get a large number of subscribers. However, creating YouTube content can be extremely engaging and enjoyable.

Generally speaking, you’re likely only going to manage a YouTube channel that’s in line with your interests. This means that you’ll look forward to every day “at the office.” Managing a YouTube channel is also the ultimate flex-time job, as you have to post content only when you want.

If you create content that others find interesting as well, your YouTube channel can actually end up being quite profitable. Once you develop a following, all of the content you’ve already produced can start generating clicks and ad revenue without you having to lift a finger.

Car Rental

While most retirees understand they can generate rental income from their home or other properties, many overlook the potential of passive income from renting out their car. This can be a great source of passive income if you have an additional car that you rarely use, as instead of sitting in the garage it can be out on the road generating cash.

While you won’t have to exert much effort to generate this type of passive income, you will have to look into the legal aspect of this option, and you’ll have to do some level of advertising to let people know your car is available.

Peer-to-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is a lesser-known type of passive investment, but it could provide high returns. For a fee, a platform connects individual borrowers and lenders, allowing them to make their own loan agreement together. This type of investing can offer above-market interest rates, but it also carries higher risk.

Reliable P2P platforms vet the individuals that use it, reducing some of the risk. But you may have to be an “accredited investor” to participate, meaning you’ll need a high net worth and/or income.

Vending Machines

Vending machines can be great sources of passive income for seniors. Once you set up your machines, you effectively just have to sit back and let the income roll in. If you want to be completely hands off, you’ll have to hire someone to stock your machines for you and collect the income. But that can be a good tradeoff if you don’t want to be involved on a daily basis.

For the best chances of success, you will have to put in a little bit of work, however. For example, you’ll want to research how the vending machine world works and the best locations for your machines if you want to earn the most money possible.

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