9 Part-Time Jobs New York Retirees Take Just for the Perks
Retirement was supposed to mean no more clocking in.
Yet across New York, retirees are picking up part-time jobs on purpose.
Sometimes, the money is beside the point.
These are the part-time jobs New York retirees take for the perks, not the paycheck.
1. Movies on the House
Some New York retirees take a job at the local movie theater for one reason: The movies.
AMC lets its crew watch any movie free of charge, and they can bring a guest.
Tear movie tickets at work on a Friday, and catch the new release on a slow Tuesday.
Regal and many smaller houses run similar perks for staff.
The popcorn’s half price too.
For a retiree who once paid full price for a movie seat, a couple of shifts a week cover date night.
2. Free Runs on the Mountain
Up in the Adirondacks, retirees work the lift lines and rental counters at Gore, Whiteface, and Belleayre.
Season pass math is why.
The state-run mountains hand seasonal staff a SKI3 pass good at all three hills plus Mt Van Hoevenberg.
Ski and lesson deals for family and friends come with it.
A few weekend shifts scanning tickets buy a whole winter of skiing, for free, that a visitor pays full price for.
Free laps all winter.
Private hills in the Catskills and out near Buffalo tend to give their workers a pass, too, so the trade holds wherever the snow falls.
3. First Pick at the Nursery
Come spring, some of New York’s garden-loving retirees pick up part-time work at the garden center.
Many independent nurseries give their staff a standing discount and a first look at every delivery.
That rare hydrangea sells out to the public by 9 a.m.
But the person who unloaded the truck already set a pot aside for employees.
Cost, not retail.
From the big greenhouses on Long Island to the family nurseries in the Hudson Valley, the deal runs the same, and the paycheck goes right back into mulch and perennials.
You end up with the best yard on the block and a receipt nobody would believe.
4. Golf on Slow Mornings
Retirees who love golf figure out fast that working the course beats paying to play it.
Many New York clubs and town courses let staff play free or cheap once the paying foursomes clear out.
Gather the range balls, marshal a few holes, then tee off at noon on an empty fairway.
The retiree’s office has 18 holes.
A starter at a Westchester club or a hand at the Bethpage counter on Long Island isn’t there to get rich.
They’re there for tee times the public waits weeks to book, and the pro shop discount on a new driver doesn’t hurt.
5. Run of the Museum
New York museums and historical societies lean on part-time greeters, guides, and gift-shop help all over the map.
Most give their staff free admission and a stack of guest passes.
Bring the kids on Sunday, no line, no fee.
Guides at many sites also walk through special exhibits and members-only talks before the public arrives.
First through the door.
Whether it’s a whaling museum out on Long Island, a canal museum along the Erie Canal, or a mansion tour in the Hudson Valley, that badge gets you past more than the front gate.
Psst! How much do you know about retiring in New York? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Retire in New York Quiz
Nine questions on taxes, parks, and the fine print of retiring in the Empire State. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
New York is one of the states that doesn’t tax which common retirement income?
6. Free Days at the Y
A front-desk shift at the YMCA, the nonprofit gym and pool, turns a retiree's workout habit into a paid perk.
The Y in New York City lists a free membership among its staff benefits, and many Ys upstate do the same, so the pool, the classes, and the weight room come with the job.
Check members in for a morning shift, swim laps after.
The pool's yours.
Water aerobics, a warm pool in a Rochester January, a pickleball court down the hall.
A membership others pay for every month lands right in the job description.
7. Gear and Days Outside
New York's hikers and campers gravitate to part-time work at REI, the outdoor gear co-op, from Yonkers to Buffalo to the store outside Albany.
The co-op lets employees rent gear from their store at no cost and stacks on partner discounts most shoppers never see.
Staff also earn two paid Yay Days a year to head outside and use it.
Paid to play.
A tent, a kayak, and snowshoes for a Catskills weekend, checked out for nothing, cover the kind of trip that used to mean a rental bill.
8. Apples by the Bagful
New York retirees who love the harvest sign on at orchards across the Hudson Valley and along the Lake Ontario shore each fall.
What they carry out the back door is the point: Bushels of Empire apples, jugs of fresh cider, and the bruised drops nobody could sell.
Bring an empty trunk.
Many orchards send the seasonal crew home loaded, no charge.
The packing houses of Wayne County, the heart of the state's apple country, hire hands every September.
9. Wegmans' Long Game
Wegmans, born in Rochester, treats part-time work better than many full-time jobs do.
Eligible part-timers get health coverage, and the chain's $150 million scholarship program has helped more than 48,000 employees pay for school since 1984.
Retirees take the apron for the coverage, the store discount, and coworkers who stick around.
The paycheck's the side dish.
You'll spot them restocking the cheese case at the Pittsford or Amherst stores, aprons on, in no hurry to leave.
A weekly cart of groceries at a staff discount, plus a Wegmans rotisserie chicken on the way out, and the wages are the smallest part of the deal.
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