Although Americans generally retire when they become eligible to receive Social Security or pension benefits, some people cannot do so when they would like, according to a report from WalletHub, a personal finance website. A quarter of non-retired adults have no retirement savings or pension, WalletHub notes, citing U.S. Federal Reserve data. |

Finding the best place to retire

Those whose retirement is a question mark because of finances may consider relocation to an affordable state that does not demand a drastic lifestyle change. But finding the best place can require a lot of research. According to WalletHub, even in the most affordable locations, Social Security or pension distributions by themselves are unlikely to cover all of a retiree's living expenses — Social Security benefits rise with local inflation, but still replace only some 39% of the average worker's earnings , according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. WalletHub has taken up the research burden and identified the best states for retirement. Researchers focused on affordability, quality of life and health care in the 50 states, using 46 key indicators of retirement friendliness and grading each one on a 100-point scale, with 100 being the most favorable conditions for retirement. |

You still need P&C insurance in retirement

Some of the differences between states are dramatic, including for auto and homeowners' insurance. For instance, in the state with the lowest cost-of-living index for retirees, the number is 85.95, compared with 188.34 in the state with the highest. Check out the gallery above to see WalletHub's 12 best states for retirement in 2019. Related: |

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Michael S. Fischer

Michael S. Fischer is a longtime contributing writer for ThinkAdvisor. He previously reported on trade and intellectual property topics for the Economist Intelligence Unit and covered the hedge fund industry for MARHedge and Reuters News Service.