In this world of extended life expectancies and unreliable pensions and money markets, most of us will need to go on working later than we had perhaps planned.

Maybe your pension is not looking as good as you hoped, due to a chequered career, or poor money market performance. Or you don’t have a pension at all.

Maybe you have children and grandchildren who could use your financial support.

Whatever your circumstances, most of us are too young at heart, fit and financially insecure to consider ending our working life at 60 or 65. But we may want a change of direction.

Maybe you want to look at the opportunities opened up by the digital era. With the internet, many things are possible now that you wouldn’t have contemplated before.

Many people will want to bring their main career to an end and then move on to something that will still generate income in their later years, albeit less than when they were at the top of their career.

Maybe you are looking for something less stressful, mentally or physically. Lots of people will be happy with part time work, and maybe a lower income.

Perhaps you want to try running your own business, or want a job that doesn’t require you to travel. Or maybe you do want to travel if you haven’t previously.

It can be a good idea to base your new career on a hobby or interest. For example, perhaps you always enjoyed organising family events and cooking for everyone. Can you develop this into an event planning or catering business?

Or perhaps you are a real ale fan and would love to run a microbrewery? Or you love dressmaking so could make clothes for friends? What about photography-perhaps you could make a little income by recording events and selling the photos, or merchandise using the photos such as crockery, placemats or cards.

What about childcare, can your love of children be a source of income for you now?

Food related services are always popular. Can you cook for someone, or teach others to cook?

So consider what you enjoy doing in your leisure time and see if you can find a way to make an income stream from that.

There will always be money to be made in looking after older people. As we all live longer and the percentage of the population who need care increases, there are many services that could be offered here.

People need carers, help with shopping and housekeeping, things to do with their leisure time, maybe letters written, help with learning to email, gift ideas for their grandchildren , supported living , will writing services…the list is endless.

What can you come up with for your new career? When you have some ideas, research the market, look at the players, the competitors. Run your idea past younger friends and relatives—they may offer a different perspective. Try to future proof “your plan.

Identify any skills gap, and take action to plug them. Maybe you need to update your digital skills, learn about e-marketing, and become familiar with social media applications for business.

Don’t forget to check out any legal or compliance issues, and think about insurance requirements.

Then you need to produce a business plan. It is a good discipline and will make you consider all aspects of your business.