It's that (retirement) time of year again: A checklist for lucky people saying goodbye to work

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of 10X Investments.

Just think, in (a few, I'm not saying how many) years I'll be retiring. Actually, scratch that. I can't see myself ever putting down my pen unless I go dilly in the head, which might have some funny results. Think Fear and Loathing on Wall Street. Maybe it'll make me rich beyond my wildest dreams. I'll have a cottage by the sea, be surrounded by dogs, and ride a motorbike into town.

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But before I write that book, I better finish the one I'm writing right now. It's a book in three parts, and I'm 30,000 words in, so only about double that to go. And when it's finally published, you'll be able to say, 'I read her stuff on the 10X blog, and I knew she'd be really famous.'

While I'm sure all my books will be runaway best sellers, in case they're not, my retirement income has to come from somewhere. For me, and I'm sure a lot of other folks, that place is my retirement annuities. Retirement income feels like a timely topic for the end of the year, when many people choose to retire (but not me, not now, and not for a good old while).

It kind of makes sense to close the work chapter at the end of a year, and start the new year happily retired. It's a good time to tie everything up neatly, and say goodbye to all your colleagues, even the ones who set meetings on Friday afternoons and eat all the birthday cake before you can get to the kitchen.

However, retirement isn't a decision you should take lightly. Please don’t just decide halfway through November that you are now retiring. That’s not nearly enough time to do all the requisite thinking and get everything properly sorted out.

Here's a little list of some of the stuff you should be thinking about (I'm sure it's not exhaustive, so if I've left anything important out, feel free to shout at me):

• Do you go with a living annuity or a life annuity? Living annuities offer flexibility, and even the potential for capital growth, but they can be volatile. I wrote about that choice here.
• What are your retirement accommodation options, especially as you get older and more frail? I wrote about those over here.
• Have you done the maths to know whether you have enough saved up to get the income you need? There’s a living annuity calculator here.
• How much debt you have, and what will it cost to service that debt?

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• What does your emergency fund look like? We should all have some money that we can draw on quickly, especially since geysers burst, fridges break and washing machines need replacing (sometimes within a few weeks of each other - or maybe that’s just my luck).
• Do you know what the tax implications of your proposed retiring plan are? For example, if you take x as a lump sum, and convert y into a hybrid living and life annuity, what will your drawdown rate on the living annuity be, and between that and your life annuity income, how much will you be taxed?
• In terms of your estate, how do you plan to transfer wealth to beneficiaries? A living annuity if a great option here. 10X also recently did an informative webinar with Moneyweb on some important wealth transfer considerations.
• And perhaps most importantly of all... What sort of healthcare will you need versus what you can afford? You don’t want to just end up on just a hospital plan at an age when hips start paying you back for all those nights you pretended your were still 20.

Speaking of your health, maybe you’ll need long-term care. Your parents’ health in their old age can tell you a lot about what you can expect, so don’t turn a blind eye to that. Perhaps you'll live far longer than you imagine. What does that mean for your finances (and also, do you know what you will do all day?).

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There are many things to ponder. Retirement can't be an idle 'shower thought'. The good news is that if I can think about it, all South Africans (yes, that's you as well, dear reader) can think about it. It's not that it's sooo complicated. It's just that you need to commit to understanding the key concepts. Empowering yourself about this decision is the most important thing you can do for yourself (and being honest, South Africans could do a lot more to empower themselves much earlier in their lives).

If you want to get all the facts, speak to a 10X investment consultant, free of charge and no strings attached. They can give you the facts about the products, and the benefit of their decades of retirement experience. Do your own research, educate yourself and then speak to an expert. We should all have the space and time to write the book we've wanted to write our whole life when we retire.