Retirement is a goal of many people and one that many are forced to push back because of finances.
In 2019, 26% of working adults had no money saved for retirement, and the coronavirus pandemic likely means few were able to save money in 2020, financial website WalletHub reported. An October study by LendingTree found that 4 in 10 Americans expect to retire later than originally anticipated because they weren’t financially ready for the pandemic.
When to stop working is just one thing people need to consider for retirement. Where you retire can determine how well you live on the money you’ve saved. To determine the best states for retirement, WalletHub compared all 50 states across three dimensions: affordability, quality of life and health care. Within those dimensions, the states were compared across 45 key indicators. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for retirement.
To make the most of your retirement, WalletHub found, you’ll want to move a bit farther south.
Florida took the top spot in the analysis, with an overall score of 61.09. It was followed by Colorado, Delaware, Virginia and North Dakota, in that order.
Georgia fell into the bottom half of the states, albeit at the top of the bottom.
With an overall score of 49.33, WalletHub ranked Georgia No. 26. Although ninth in affordability, the state ranked No. 42 in both quality of life and health care.
Quality of life metrics included share of population age 65 and older — Georgia was 47th — risk of social isolation, mildness of weather and senior citizen volunteer rate, among others.
Health care metrics included COVID-19 positive testing rate and death rate, family physicians, nurses and dentists per capita, among others.
You can see WalletHub’s full results on its website by clicking here.
