By DAVID HOUCK
Qualifying Broker
Atomic Realty LLC

Retirement is a major decision, understand your personal motivation to retire? It is usually influenced by your unique financial and emotional factors. People retire for different reasons and at different ages.

Some retire because they are young and feel that with a budget they can enjoy a very long retirement, some temporarily retire taking a year or two off to find themselves and the lifestyle they are seeking. Most retire because they feel they have worked a career, have children, and grandchildren and free time they want to enjoy. There are as many reasons to retire as there are people. Discuss your plans and seek advice with your financial advisor, your spouse, your family, and your trusted friends. With consideration, you may find that you enjoy what you are doing and worry you may find retirement unfulfilling.

But if retiring treat retiring as a process, and while it may be nerve racking as there are many factors to consider, often two factors are considered the most important. What do you want to do when you retire, and can you afford to retire?

What do you want to do when you retire? Have some ideas and make some plans. Plans can change but start with some ideas of what you think retirement may look like and cost.

Generally, once people know what they want to do they can start planning where they want to go. They can envision themselves there and can start the process of planning the transition , letting go, and getting excited about that future.

Create your retirement budget, can you afford to retire? Estimate and think about what you believe your monthly budget will be? Consider any savings, pensions, social security and other retirement vehicles you may have. Is money from selling your home part of the money you will have to work with? This is an important time to work with your financial planner, tax person, and family.

Often retired people spend the same money or even more than when they were working due to having more time to socialize, travel, and recreate. What are the costs of doing the things you would like to do?

Some professionals we suggest speaking with before deciding to retire include:

• Your family – Are they all okay with your plans?
• Your attorney – Have your wills and trusts and other documents updated and in place?
• Your financial advisor – How are you going to generate income and how much is necessary?
• Your lender – How can you buy a house once you have retired and have reduced income?
• You healthcare providers – What are you options if you get sick?
• Your accountant – what are the tax consequences of retiring and how to best plan your future tax burden.

If you would like to see a reprint of this column or any past column please go to the AtomicRealty.net webpage and look under the FAQ tab.

Editor’s note: David Houck is the Qualifying Broker of Atomic Realty, (AtomicRealty.net), has over 40 years of real estate experience, a BS degree in math and physics, and a juris doctorate. He is volunteering on the New Mexico Association of Realtors forms committee working towards clear concise forms that best serve and protect the public.