Return on Retirement

Return on Retirement

Which 10 states are the least prepared for retirement?

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Kelli Grant, CFP®@KelliGrant.money
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10 states the least prepared for retirement

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No wonder retirees tend to cluster in states with low costs of living.

Financial experts often recommend that retirees aim to live off of 70 to 80 percent of their pre-retirement salary. But that's a benchmark that residents in only one state—Nevada—and Washington, D.C., are surpassing, according to a new study from Interest.com based on Census Bureau data.

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Nationwide, looking at median incomes for working Americans and retirees, residents age 65 and older have a wage replacement ratio of 59.63 percent. They're living on an average income of $37,847. That's a tight budget, especially given higher costs in retirement for health care, said Mike Sante, managing editor of Interest.com. "Some of them are struggling with some of the basic necessities of life," he said.

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These 10 states are the least prepared when it comes to retirees having enough savings to replace their pre-retirement income.

—By CNBC's Kelli B. Grant
Posted 9 Oct. 2014

Rhode Island—No. 10

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 23.9 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $39,577
  • Income replacement rate: 55.15 percent
  • Change from 2011: 6.95 percent

New York—No. 9

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 23.7 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $37,769
  • Income replacement rate: 54.98 percent
  • Change from 2011: 2.5 percent

Pennsylvania —No. 8

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 26.2 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $35,009
  • Income replacement rate: 54.36 percent
  • Change from 2011: 2.15 percent

New Hampshire—No. 7

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 23.5 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $42,406
  • Income replacement rate: 54.26 percent
  • Change from 2011: 3.59 percent

Wisconsin —No. 6

A winter motorcycle trip in Wisconsin
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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 23.6 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $34,721
  • Income replacement rate: 53.78 percent
  • Change from 2011: 1.16 percent

New Jersey—No. 5

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 24 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $45,092
  • Income replacement rate: 52.57 percent
  • Change from 2011: 3.04 percent

Connecticut—No. 4

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 24.7 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $44,240
  • Income replacement rate: 52.2 percent
  • Change from 2011: 1.31 percent

Minnesota—No. 3

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 22.4 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $38,531
  • Income replacement rate: 51.87 percent
  • Change from 2011: 0.68 percent

North Dakota—No. 2

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 22.1 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $35,293
  • Income replacement rate: 48.99 percent
  • Change from 2011: 0.82 percent

Massachusetts—No. 1

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  • Percentage of households 65-plus: 23.9 percent
  • Median income (age 65-plus): $40,020
  • Income replacement rate: 48.74 percent
  • Change from 2011: 3.53 percent