Dec 30, 2025
As you near retirement, you might be anxious that you aren’t on track to save what you’ll need to retire comfortably. Or maybe you’re like the one in five Americans who are over 50 and have no retirement savings.
A survey by AARP found that not only did 20% of those surveyed who were age 50+ have no retirement savings at all, but also that 61% of respondents were worried they would not have enough money to support themselves in retirement. (1)
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It’s not surprising, then, that millions of Americans are working second jobs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in September almost 8.8 million Americans held multiple jobs.
But what are the rules around holding multiple jobs? If you pick up a second job, or side hustle, do you need to inform your employer?
Should you disclose a second job?
Imagine Lena, who works in communications for an insurance company. She’s 52, and has $280,000 saved for retirement. She makes $65,000 a year, and she’s worried that she is not going to reach her goal of 10 times her annual income in savings by the time she is 67.
Lena is considering taking on freelance writing and editing jobs to make extra money to put towards retirement savings. However, she’s not sure if she needs to disclose the side work to her company.
Having more than one job isn’t illegal. But depending on state laws around non-compete agreements, workers could run into trouble. (2)
If you want to take on a second job, you should review your employment contracts and/or company codes of conduct from your employer, and check if there are policies prohibiting secondary employment.
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If you are using company time to work on your second job or side hustle, you run the risk of your employer discovering that you’re doing other work on the clock, risking your primary employment. If you are doing work for a competitor, you could also run into trouble if there is a conflict of interest.
For someone like Lena, as long as her contract doesn’t prohibit secondary employment, and she is not working for a competitor, she should be able to freelance without worry.
If her contract doesn’t stipulate that she must disclose any secondary employment, she likely does not need to tell her employer about the extra work she’s doing.
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How many Americans have second jobs?
Picking up a second job in order to save money for retirement can fast-track your savings plan, but for some Americans, a second job is not just a savings booster, but their lifeline.
According to a report from Forbes, many Americans need second jobs because of financial pressure: their paycheck from full-time employment is not enough to cover their needs. (3) The report also notes that wages in the U.S. have not kept up with sky-high inflation.
However, Americans who work single jobs have both higher hourly earnings and a lower number of annual work hours, for all income levels. (4) Multiple job holders also had only a slightly higher average income ($57,865) compared to single job holders ($56,965).
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In a tougher job market, it makes sense that many Americans are taking on second jobs or side hustles to pay the bills, or boost their savings. While it may not be possible to switch jobs, it may be just as beneficial to look for a higher paying job.
If you decide to opt for a side hustle, be sure that you are able to manage the added workload without burning out. You should also create a new budget to manage your additional income, building in how much of your earnings will go to savings.
For Lena, she may want to use all her secondary income for her retirement savings, which will mean keeping her budget strict and avoiding the temptation to dip into her new earnings for discretionary purchases.
She should make sure she has an emergency fund to cover any surprise expenses so that she doesn’t derail her savings plan.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
AARP (1); Bamboo HR (2); Forbes (3); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4).
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Danielle is a personal finance writer based in Ohio. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Motley Fool and Business Insider. She believes financial literacy key to helping people build a life they love.
