NJ Named Worst State For Retirees (Yes, You Knew That)

NEW JERSEY — The last year has pushed a lot of people to consider retirement. If you're near retirement age, or close to it, deciding when might be the easy part.

Deciding where can be a much bigger challenge, though the common refrain among New Jersey residents is "not in Jersey; it's too expensive."

That feeling isn't simply conjecture: a recent survey by WalletHub compared all 50 states for and found New Jersey was the worst state for retirement, with lack of affordability being one of the biggest issues.

The survey looked at "45 key indicators of retirement-friendliness," including affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life, WalletHub said.

Interestingly, while New Jersey was ranked as the least-affordable state, it wasn't among the five worst states in highest adjusted cost of living, cost of in-home services or WalletHub taxpayer ranking. It was in the top five states with the lowest property crime rates.

Not surprisingly, Florida was listed as the best state for retirees. It was listed the fourth-most affordable, and ranked sixth in quality of life and 28th in health care.

The top 10 states for retirees were:

1. Florida
2. Colorado
3. Delaware
4. Virginia
5. North Dakota
6. Montana
7. Idaho
8. Utah
9. Minnesota
10. New Hampshire

The most affordable state, Alabama, was 27th overall for retirees, and near the bottom on quality of life (45th) and quality of health care (48th).

Neighboring Delaware was the fifth-most affordable, while New York was the second-least affordable. Pennsylvania came in 35th for affordability, but 12th for quality of life and had an overall ranking of 32nd.

New Jersey was ranked 35th for quality of life — we are guessing they didn't like paying to get on the beach at the Shore, but there is so much more to see in New Jersey besides the beach. (And we have pork roll and the best pizza. Perhaps we need to send some to the panel next year.) It was ranked 33rd for health care, in spite of the easy access to excellent specialized medical care options in both Philadelphia and New York City.

The affordability rating looked at adjusted cost of living; tax-friendliness in general, for seniors and on inheritance; the cost of adult day health care and the share of the senior population who could not afford to go to a doctor.

You can read the full methodology on the WalletHub website.

While you may not be closer to retirement financially especially after the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic — a Lending Tree survey found 4 in 10 Americans weren't financially prepared for the pandemic, and 25 percent say their retirement will be delayed because of the financial impact of COVID-19 on their lives — the possibilities may provide some guidance for your future plans.

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com