Idaho one of best retirement states

Idaho’s affordable cost of living, high number of health care facilities per capita and low taxes earned the state the No. 6 spot on WalletHub’s list of best and worst states to retire in the U.S.

According to the personal finance website, location is an important aspect of retirement planning since nearly a third of all non-retirees have no retirement savings or pension because they can’t afford to contribute to any type of plan. Even in the most affordable areas of the U.S., retirees often cannot rely on their 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 earned by an average worker, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“The most common mistake that retirees seem to make when choosing where to settle is picking places where the weather is good or where their children are,” said Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economics and director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research. “Children move and good weather alone does not make people feel happy or contented.”

Scott R. Baker, assistant professor of finance in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, said one of the worst mistakes is looking primarily at the tax burden in different states when choosing a retirement home.

“Differences in lifestyle and living expenses could easily swamp the financial benefits of a zero percent state income tax rate,” Baker said.

WalletHub ranks Florida the best retirement state, followed by No. 2 Wyoming, No. 3 South Dakota, No. 4 South Carolina, No. 5 Colorado, No. 6 Idaho, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Montana, No. 9 Nevada and No. 10 Virginia.

The worst places to retire are Rhode Island at No. 51, behind No. 50, the District of Columbia, No. 49 Hawaii, No. 48 Connecticut, No. 47 Vermont, No. 46 New Jersey, No. 45 West Virginia, No. 44 New York, No. 43 Alaska, No. 42 Maryland, No. 41 Kentucky and No. 40 Arkansas.

To read the complete WalletHub report, visit http://bit.ly/1P6Xsuy.