Life / Statewide

Delaware Makes Top 10 List For Best States To Retire In

- by Staff Writer

Retirement might be the end of the line, but it doesn’t have to be the end of financial security or life satisfaction. Timing is often a primary concern with retirement, as it generally coincides with the age at which we become eligible to draw Social Security or pension benefits. Hopefully the choice will be ours and not dictated by our circumstances — the unfortunate case for nearly a third of non-retirees who haven’t put away a single penny for retirement, though not necessarily through any fault of their own.

But in addition to when you want to retire, a good question to ask is where, which can be difficult to answer if you haven’t adequately planned for your golden years. Even in the most affordable areas of the U.S., most retirees cannot rely on Social Security or pension checks alone to cover all of their living expenses. Social Security benefits increase progressively with local inflation, but they replace only about 40 percent of the amount you earned if you were an average worker, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

If retirement is still a big question mark for you because of finances, consider relocating to a state that lets you keep more money in your pocket without requiring a drastic lifestyle change. To help you find that permanent, affordable place to call home, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 31 key indicators of retirement-friendliness. Our analysis examines affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life.  Read More.

Source: WalletHub
Overall Rank State Total Score ‘Affordability’ Rank ‘Quality of Life’ Rank ‘Health Care’ Rank
1 Florida 69.22 1 11 24
2 Wyoming 67.81 4 25 19
3 South Dakota 67.06 15 33 2
4 Iowa 66.26 26 6 5
5 Colorado 64.85 27 17 7
6 Idaho 64.12 14 31 16
7 South Carolina 64.00 7 37 33
8 Nevada 63.64 6 9 42
9 Delaware 63.59 10 40 25
10 Wisconsin 63.34 33 5 4
11 Pennsylvania 63.23 20 4 32
12 Montana 63.08 23 24 13
13 Arizona 63.04 21 16 21
14 Missouri 61.73 22 18 28
15 Michigan 61.69 28 12 26
16 Washington 61.31 31 20 17
17 Utah 61.25 25 35 18
18 Texas 61.11 3 36 44
19 Virginia 61.08 19 23 31
20 Georgia 60.55 11 32 41
21 Minnesota 60.49 45 2 1
22 Maine 60.41 37 7 14
23 North Carolina 60.27 18 26 37
24 New Hampshire 60.24 35 19 11
25 Ohio 59.59 24 22 36
26 Oregon 59.47 30 30 22
27 Kansas 58.83 34 14 23
28 Oklahoma 58.47 12 39 43
29 Tennessee 58.26 5 38 47
30 Nebraska 57.78 40 28 8
31 Illinois 57.15 32 15 38
32 California 56.90 42 8 20
33 Louisiana 56.74 9 43 46
34 Indiana 56.67 29 29 40
35 Massachusetts 56.58 47 3 10
36 Alabama 56.46 2 47 50
37 Maryland 55.73 39 21 27
38 North Dakota 55.09 43 42 6
39 West Virginia 54.48 13 44 48
40 Mississippi 54.48 8 49 51
41 New York 53.54 46 1 30
42 Arkansas 53.45 17 48 45
43 Kentucky 53.27 16 45 49
44 Vermont 52.79 48 10 12
45 New Mexico 52.61 36 41 39
46 New Jersey 52.55 41 27 35
47 Hawaii 51.85 50 34 3
48 Connecticut 51.34 49 13 15
49 District of Columbia 50.96 44 51 9
50 Alaska 50.82 38 50 34
51 Rhode Island 43.84 51 46 29

Source: Wallet Hub