5 Best Ways for Retirees To Earn Passive Income Without Working Too Hard

The majority of U.S. retirees rely on Social Security to get them by in their golden years . While Social Security is often a supplement to other sources of income, many retirees use it as their primary income.

Read Next: I’m Planning My Retirement: 5 Expenses I Wish I Had Cut Sooner

Find Out: 9 Easy Ways To Build Wealth That Will Last Through Retirement

In August 2024, the Social Security Administration reported that the average monthly benefit was $1,784. Even with other retirement savings or income to bolster that amount, it’s sometimes wise to add another source of income. Ideally, this will be passive income that can still contribute to a comfortable retirement without requiring too much energy or time.

Here are some of the top ways you can boost your monthly retirement income without working too hard.

Money mistakes the super wealthy never make - that you might be doing now.

Become a Consultant

By the time you reach retirement, chances are you’ve got a wealth of expertise and experience behind you. If that’s the case, you could always use what you’ve learned and pass it on to others as an independent consultant.

As a consultant, you can set your own schedule and work from wherever you’re most comfortable — even if that’s at home. You can also decide how much you want to charge based on your experience and whatever the going rate is for that.

Even better is that you can continue to stay active while earning money working as little or as much as you want. And if you have a large network from your working years, you might be able to use that to start getting clients — even if just one or two.

And if you want to make this more passive, you can always create a course or videos and charge for viewership. You’ll need to produce, edit and upload these, but once they’re out there, they can start generating money for you.

Here are some examples of what you could earn this way:

• $4 to $24 per 1,000 views on YouTube
• Up to $5,000 a month on TikTok (depending on location, monetization methods and follower count)
• Several hundred or thousand dollars via online courses, coaching/consulting and digital downloads on platforms like Teachable

If you want to stick with freelance consulting, Salary.com estimates you could earn anywhere from $39 to $48 an hour, on average.

Consider This: Cutting Expenses for Retirement? Here’s the No. 1 Thing To Get Rid Of First

Invest in Companies

An even more passive income opportunity is to invest in companies that pay dividends .

“Think of dividends as a company sharing a portion of its profits with its shareholders,” said Joe F. Schmitz, Jr., the founder and CEO of Peak Retirement Planning . “For example, if you own 100 shares of Home Depot stock and the company declares a $2 dividend per share, you will earn $200 in dividends.”

Keep in mind that these dividends will be taxed. This is also the case with most other earnings you get from other income sources. The way dividends are taxed is a little different, though.

“Dividends are taxed at capital gains rates,” said Schmitz. “This can benefit most, as capital gains rates are 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your income, often lower than their ordinary income tax rate.”

Rent Out Your Property

If you have a second home, mother-in-law suite or spare room that you rarely use, consider becoming a host on a site like Airbnb or Vrbo. As of 2022, the latest available data from Airbnb showed that the average Airbnb host earned about $14,000 a year.

You might need to do some initial work for this one. For example, you’ll need to create a listing, which includes writing up the key features or highlights of your property and taking high-quality photos.

You’ll also need to set your fees and keep the lines of communication with potential customers open. And once someone does stay at your place, you may need to clean up after them — or else hire someone to do it for you.

Another option as suggested by many financial experts, including Dave Ramsey, is to purchase a rental property if you’ve got the means. According to Pew Research, nearly 7% of individual tax filers own at least one rental property and use it to earn extra income.

Just like with Airbnb or Vrbo, you’ll still need to do some general maintenance on your property. If you don’t mind spending a little bit of your extra earnings, you could always hire a professional rental company to handle the details for you.

Write a Book

You’re bound to have a lot of free time in retirement, so if you’re passionate about a specific topic, why not write about it? You can spend as much or as little time as you’d like on the actual writing, research and development process. If you’re not in a rush, you could always spread out the writing over months or even a couple of years. Once the rough draft is complete, you can hire an editor — or else edit it yourself.

As for publishing, you’ve got options. One is to go the self-publishing route. Kindle Direct Publishing, for example, lets you digitally publish your own stories to earn around 70% of the royalties. Publishing on this platform is also free.

One of the biggest hurdles you’ll face is getting your book seen. That’s where using your network or social media comes in. The more people you have actively engaged with you, the more you could earn passively.

Use Interest-Bearing Accounts

If you don’t want to work but you still want your money to work for you, make sure you’re using interest-bearing accounts. This could be as simple as a high-yield savings account , which you could use for your general needs and emergencies. Or it could mean diving into index funds or ETFs.

Whatever the case, choose accounts that earn the highest returns. That way, you can earn a few extra hundred — or thousand — dollars a month passively.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : 5 Best Ways for Retirees To Earn Passive Income Without Working Too Hard