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June 29, 2015 at 09:51 AM
Say you’ve already achieved the American dream and socked away retirement money. You’re looking for the best place to spend your golden years, and you’d like to find the place where you can retire rich.
After all, high expenses in retirement can take a toll on even substantial nest eggs, and the last thing you want to do is run out of money. So to get the most bang for your retirement buck, you need to choose carefully.
Fortunately, GoBankingRates has taken the effort out of the search for you. They’ve evaluated the states based on several factors that can really do a number on your retirement fund.
First come taxes (estate, inheritance, property, sales, and Social Security). Then there are local living expenses, including home values and listing prices, local deposit rates, and a cost-of-living index.
Last, but far from least, is health-care affordability and accessibility, for which you need to consider average individual insurance premiums, the average Medicare payment, and the health of seniors taking advantage of regional health care.
Taking that all into consideration, here’s a look at the 10 best states where you can retire rich (and hopefully stay that way).
(If you’re a masochist, stay tuned for the 10 worst places.)
1. New Hampshire
You’ve heard the expression “like getting blood from a stone”? Well, paying taxes in New Hampshire is not like that, since the Granite State not only has no tax on Social Security, it doesn’t tax estates or inheritances either.
And you can shop till you drop here, because there’s also no sales tax.
Health care is a big plus in New Hampshire, despite monthly premiums that are higher than average. But the state makes up for it in other ways, with better-than-average Medicare payouts. Not that you should need all that many of them; according to the United Health Foundation, New Hampshire seniors are among the healthiest in the country.
The state’s drawbacks come in the form of a high cost of living, pricey homes, and property taxes that are the second highest in the country. Also, deposit account rates aren’t all that great, though they’re not terrible.
See also: 5 major risks to a client’s retirement income
2. Delaware
No sales, Social Security, or inheritance tax here — definitely worth crossing the Delaware for.
There is a 16 percent estate tax, though, but low property taxes — the fourth-lowest median rate in the country at 0.43 percent of your home’s value.
Average Medicare payments are among the highest, although premiums are relatively high—but Delaware seniors, too, are pretty healthy souls, ranking 15th in the country.
Where you’ll want to keep a tight rein on the purse strings is on living expenses. Homes are priced higher than average, and so is the overall cost of living.
See also: Annuities and the tug-of-war ove retirement accounts
3. Idaho
Now this is where you want to be for a low cost of living. It’s the third cheapest in the country, outranked only by Mississippi and Tennessee. Local deposit rates are higher than average, local tax rates are low, as are sales and property taxes.
And forget about Social Security, estate, and inheritance taxes; there aren’t any.
Health isn’t its best category, with middle-of-the-road Medicare payouts and senior health. But average insurance premiums are among the 10 cheapest in the country.
See also: 4 myths Dave Ramsey is spreading about fixed annuities (and how to overcome them)
4. Wisconsin
The state is second in the country for senior health care, thanks to low crime, top health care, and broad health insurance coverage. Living expenses are relatively low, too.
Homes aren’t all that expensive — in fact, they’re in the bottom third nationally — but property taxes are the fourth highest in the country.
But there’s no Social Security, estate, or inheritance tax, and sales tax is very low.
