In short
- A retiree can earn from home by packing orders for online shops: 15 small parcels a week at the suggested €2.25 nets about €131 a month for roughly 68 minutes of work a week. You choose the parcel sizes, so nothing heavier than 5 kg if you prefer.
- In the UK you pay no National Insurance on work after State Pension age, and you can claim your State Pension while you work. Income Tax depends on your total income, pension included.
- In Ireland the State Pension (Contributory) is paid from 66, is not means-tested and you can keep working while you get it.
- No experience, no money down and no password to remember: you sign in with a link by email.
- AirPost is a peer-to-peer fulfilment network: online shops have their orders packed and dropped at a parcel point by verified people near their customers, who earn a fee per parcel from home. No warehouse, no minimum order volume.
Many people stop full-time work and find they want something small: a reason to get out each day, a bit of extra money, and nothing with a boss, a rota or heavy lifting. Packing parcels for online shops can be that, if you set it up to suit you.
This guide covers what the work is, which parcel sizes to take, what it pays with the numbers from the app’s own code, and what the UK and Irish pension and tax rules say about earning after retirement. The general set-up is on earn from home.
What can a retiree do to earn money from home?
The best fit for most retirees is work with no fixed hours, little screen time and no outlay. The common options compare like this:
| Option | Fixed hours? | Physical? | Money to start | Uses your experience? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting or tutoring | Booked sessions | No | None | Yes |
| Letting a room to a lodger | No | Some housework | A furnished spare room | No |
| Pet sitting or dog walking | Yes, around the owner | Yes | None | No |
| Selling crafts or collectables | No | Light | Materials or stock | Sometimes |
| Packing parcels for shops | No; you set your days | Light, you choose sizes | None | No |
If you have a profession you can sell, consulting or tutoring pays best per hour. If you want something that needs no skill and gets you out of the house a few times a week, parcel packing fits. The full UK comparison, with tax-free amounts per option, is in side hustles from home in the UK.
Is parcel packing physically demanding?
Only if you let it be. You choose which parcel sizes you accept, and each size has its own fee. Take small and medium parcels and the heaviest thing you carry is 10 kg; take only small ones and it is 5 kg.
| Size | Box | Weight | Suggested fee | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small parcel | 35 × 25 × 15 cm | Up to 5 kg | €2.25 | Anyone; fits a shopping bag |
| Medium parcel | 45 × 35 × 30 cm | Up to 10 kg | €3.00 | A trolley or a car helps |
| Large parcel | 60 × 50 × 40 cm | 10–30 kg | €5.50 | Only with a car and a strong back |
The other physical part is the trip to the drop-off point. You tick only the parcel shops and lockers you pass anyway — the post office, the supermarket, the newsagent — and one trip a week can be enough if it fits the shop’s handover time.
How much can a retiree earn packing parcels?
At the suggested fees, 10 to 25 small parcels a week nets €87 to €218 a month. The time uses the same assumption as our calculator: 3.5 minutes per parcel plus a 15-minute trip a week.
| Parcels a week | Time a week | Net a month at €2.25 | Net a month at €3.00 | Net a year (small) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 50 min | €87 | €116 | €1,048 |
| 15 | 68 min | €131 | €175 | €1,571 |
| 25 | 103 min | €218 | €291 | €2,619 |
Try your own numbers
What does it pay?
Slide to the number of parcels you can handle in a week.
| Parcels a week | Your rate per parcel | Estimated per month |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | €1.50 | €116 |
| 50 | €2.25 | €437 |
| 250 | €3.00 | €2,910 |
An estimate based on four weeks. Your orders decide the real amount.
A fee becomes payable 3 days after the carrier’s first scan and you withdraw whenever you like from €10.00. Your balance is kept in euros; a UK bank account receives pounds. More detail is in how much you can earn packing parcels from home.
Does working affect your State Pension in the UK?
No. GOV.UK says you can claim your State Pension and keep working, and that you do not pay National Insurance if you work past State Pension age. What changes is Income Tax, which looks at all your income together.
| Rule | Amount or effect | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| National Insurance after State Pension age | None | Your parcel fees carry no NI |
| Personal Allowance 2026–27 | £12,570 | Your State Pension and other pensions use it first |
| Trading allowance | £1,000 a year | Up to £1,000 of gross fees is tax-free |
| Self Assessment | Above £1,000 of gross fees | Register by 5 October after the tax year ends |
In practice: below £1,000 of fees a year you usually do not need to tell HMRC at all. Above it, the profit is added to your pension income and taxed at your normal rate. How the allowance works for small side incomes is in the UK trading allowance explained.
Pension Credit and other means-tested help
The rules above are for the State Pension itself. Means-tested support counts your income, so if you receive it, ask the service that pays it before you start.
What about retirees in Ireland?
Citizens Information is clear on the contributory pension: you can get the State Pension (Contributory) from 66, it is not means-tested, and you can keep working or have other income while you get it. The non-contributory pension is means-tested, so extra income can count there.
On tax, Revenue’s 2026 charts list an Age Tax Credit of €245 for a single person and €490 for a married couple or civil partners. Side income above small amounts still has to be declared; the thresholds are in how much you can earn tax-free in Ireland.
The same work is available in other countries, under that country’s pension and tax rules. The live list of sender countries comes from the rate card:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
- United States
How do you get started without being an "app person"?
Sign up with your email address
There is no password. Each time, a sign-in link arrives by email, and you stay signed in for thirty days.
Choose sizes and fees
Untick large parcels if you do not want to lift them. The app suggests a fee for each size.
Tick your drop-off points
Only the ones on your usual walk or drive. You get orders only for those carriers.
Verify your identity once
An ID document and a selfie on your phone, plus a bank account in your own name for payouts.
Agree a batch with a shop
Say how much room you have. The stock stays the shop’s; you return it within 14 days if asked.
You need a phone for notifications and an ordinary printer for the labels; colour is not needed. The full list is in what you need to pack parcels from home.
Scams aimed at older people
Real work never asks for a deposit, a "starter kit" or your bank details by phone, and never asks you to forward parcels abroad for someone you have not met. The warning signs are in is packing parcels from home a scam?.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good way to earn money from home after retirement?
Something with no fixed hours and no outlay. Packing parcels for online shops is one: 15 small parcels a week at the suggested €2.25 nets about €131 a month, and you pick the sizes you can lift.
Will earning money reduce my UK State Pension?
No. You can claim your State Pension while working, and you pay no National Insurance on work after State Pension age. Income Tax is based on your total income.
Do I have to declare it to HMRC?
Up to £1,000 of gross trading income a year is covered by the trading allowance and usually does not need to be reported. Above that, register for Self Assessment.
Is there an upper age limit?
The age rule at sign-up is that you are 18 or over. Beyond that you verify your identity and add a bank account in your own name.
Do I need a car?
Not for small parcels: they fit in a shopping bag. A car helps for medium parcels and is close to essential for large ones, which you can switch off.
Can I take a few weeks off?
Yes. Set your account to inactive while you are away; it takes you off the lists until you switch it back on. Agree with the shop what happens to its stock.
Sources
See whether a shop is looking for a sender near you
Earn from home