Where you decide to live when you retire is arguably more important than how much you manage to save for your retirement years. Not only will your retirement destination impact your financial security, but it will also directly affect your overall quality of life. Each year, WalletHub publishes the results of their state “retirement-friendliness” rankings to help you decide how your choice of retirement destination will impact your retirement years. The Los Angeles estate planning attorneys at Schomer Law Group, APC explain how California ranks as a retirement destination.
Retirement Planning
When planning for your retirement, making sure you have sufficient assets available to live comfortably is important. When the concept of lifetime employment began to disappear, so did the ability to count on a pension along with a decent monthly Social Security check to provide financial security during your retirement years. Knowing that, most people now start saving for their retirement years when they are relatively young. How far the money you save will go, how comfortable your retirement years will be, and the quality of life you enjoy during your retirement years, however, will be impacted by factors other than how much money you managed to save. Chief among those factors is where you decide to live when you retire.
What Does the Wallet Hub Survey Consider When Ranking States for Retirees?
If you live in California, you likely feel as though you live in your own mini country. There is no denying that California has its own unique identity. Is California the best place for you to live when you retire though? Or do you see yourself relocating when it’s time to live out your retirement years? Whether you plan to remain in California when you retire or are thinking about moving to California from another state when you retire, you may find the results of the 2022 WalletHub “Best States to Retire” survey to be helpful. WalletHub conducts the survey each year by comparing the 50 states across 47 key indicators of retirement-friendliness. Their analysis examines affordability, health-related factors, and overall quality of life. Each metric is graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for retirement. Each state receives an overall score as well as a ranking for each of the three broad categories – affordability, health care, and quality of life. For 2022, the State of Florida once again took the number one spot with a combined score of 59.41. Virginia and Colorado came in a close second and third with scores of 59.32 and 59.27 respectively. At the very bottom of the rankings, in last place, was New Jersey with 40.27 points.
How Did California Rank?
The State of California came in at a respectable 16th place with an overall score of 52.60. In the “Health Care” category California came in number 12 and in the “Quality of Life” category California ranked right in the middle at number 24. Not surprisingly, California did not do as well in the “Affordability” category coming in at number 30. California also ranked 49th in the sub-category “Highest Adjusted Cost of Living” and 46th in the “Highest Annual Cost of In-Home Services.” On a more positive note, California came in 3rd place in the “Most Museums per Capita” sub-category and tied for 1st place in the “Most Theaters Per Capita” sub-category. California also came in 2nd place in the “Highest Life Expectancy” sub-category.
Contact Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorneys
For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions or concerns about estate planning, contact the experienced Los Angeles estate planning attorneys at Schomer Law Group APCby calling (310) 337-7696 to schedule an appointment.
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