Here Are the 10 States Where People Are Most At Risk of Running Out of Their Retirement Savings. Is Your State On the List? The average retiree is short about $115,000 to cover their entire retirement, according to a new Seniorly report.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Dan Bova
Key Takeaways
- A new report from the senior living platform Seniorly finds that retirees are expected to outlive their retirement savings in 41 states and Washington, D.C.
- In these states, seniors lack sufficient funds to cover retirement.
- Another report from Northwestern Mutual discovered that Americans believe they need $1.26 million to comfortably retire.
One of the greatest retirement fears Americans face is outliving their savings and investments, according to a June study from the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
A new report published earlier this month by the senior living platform Seniorly highlights these concerns by finding that retirees in nearly every state are expected to fall short of enough income to cover their retirement costs.
The study found that in 41 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C., seniors do not have enough financial resources saved up for retirement. Retirees have an average life expectancy of 18.2 years at retirement age (65 years old) and are expected to bring in $762,000 across their retirement lifetime from Social Security, savings, and investments. However, their average living expenses are $877,000, leaving a gap of $115,000.
Related: How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Comfortably in Your State? Here's the Breakdown.
Seniorly analyzed available data from sources like the U.S. Social Security Administration and the Census Bureau to calculate expected retirement income and expenses.
The study found that New York was the highest risk state for retirees running out of funds. Expenses in the state were $1.1 million, and income was $670,000, leaving a shortfall of $430,000. Washington is the top state where seniors are least likely to outlive their savings, with a surplus of about $146,000.
A Northwestern Mutual report added to the findings by discovering that Americans believe they need $1.26 million to comfortably retire — that's the magic number for retirement savings. The majority of Americans (51%) said that it is somewhat or very likely that they will not have enough money to cover retirement expenses.
Here are the 10 states where seniors are most at risk of outliving their retirement savings, according to Seniorly, based on average income across a retirement lifetime and average expenses across a retirement lifetime for each state.
1. New York
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1.1 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $670,000
Shortfall: $430,000
2. Hawaii
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1.7 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $1.3 million
Shortfall: $400,000
3. District of Columbia
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1.1 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $736,000
Shortfall: $364,000
4. Alaska
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1.1 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $712,000
Shortfall: $388,000
5. California
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1.3 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $926,000
Shortfall: $374,000
6. Massachusetts
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1.3 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $1 million
Shortfall: $300,000
7. Rhode Island
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $960,000
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $676,000
Shortfall: $284,000
8. Vermont
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $771,000
Shortfall: $229,000
9. Louisiana
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $724,000
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $479,000
Shortfall: $245,000
10. Connecticut
Expenses Across Retirement Lifetime: $1 million
Income Across Retirement Lifetime: $851,000
Approximate shortfall: $149,000
