How much it costs to retire in each state.

[TonyV.]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/what-a-comfortable-retirement-costs-in-each-state/ss-BBH2JBp?ocid=HPCDHP#image=2
This is an article from GoBankingRates that I came across on MSN. They list what a "comfortable" retirement costs in each state according to average living costs. Now, I'm not opposed to the "thinking" behind this, I just find it misleading.
Take the first one for example, Mississippi.
Cost of living- $37,750
Amount needed to retire- $755,000
Sounds logical... But their example is only suppose to cover 20 years! Which, btw, I guess means they expect you to retire at a "normal" age of 65-70. So why didn't they take SS into account? that would knock off about another $1,000/month, right?
Does anyone else agree that $755,000 should basically cover an infinite amount of years? I mean, $37,750 a year is a 5% withdraw rate. I know 4% is the ultimate "goal", but that's also being conservative, right?
I mean, I guess these figures make sense if you're keeping your nest egg in a savings account, but who keeps $755,000 in a savings account? lol

[martyconlonontherun]

My biggest problem with these numbers is that it doesn't give the range per state. Yeah, I bet I could live cheap in a lot of Mississippi but it's a big state and I personally wouldn't want to retire in 90% of it. If they did these by cities and sorted by size, I would find it a lot more helpful, IMO. "I want to live in a city around 800k, what is the cheapest?"

[minority_finance_mo]

My biggest problem with this report is it forces you to slide through 51 pages to maximize ad revenue per visit. No thanks.

[facepalm]

I prefer the sites that tell you what your tax burden will be in retirement for each state. I can guesstimate cost of living by looking at RE prices.

This is my favorite site:

https://smartasset.com/retirement/retirement-taxes

[slugline]

The comparisons only work well for states with small sizes geographically. For states that are large enough to contain both major metros and rural regions, looking at averages is kind of pointless.

[WhiteTrashCash]

I wouldn't mind moving to rural Mississippi when I retire. The weather isn't bad and I bet it would be really easy to rule over the locals like a third world warlord.

[nick663]

That article has been going around the web for a while now and it's still crap like it was on the first day it was released.  It assumes 0% return on your retirement savings which is about the dumbest assumption one could make.

[ducky19]

That article has been going around the web for a while now and it's still crap like it was on the first day it was released.  It assumes 0% return on your retirement savings which is about the dumbest assumption one could make.

Exactly! "Hmm, let's take the amount someone would need in that state, multiply it by 20, and say that's how much they'll need." Nevermind investment returns, Social Security, etc. Complete trash accounting.

If you factor in $2,000/mo in SS income, you'd only need $343,750 (or roughly half their amount) using a 4% SWR.

[Just Joe]

But how long until some politician tries to kill SS?

[nick663]

But how long until some politician tries to kill SS?

-A single politician can't do it.
-The day a politician tries it, it will be the end of their political career.  The same goes for anyone voting for it.

So basically... never. :)

[Travis]

But how long until some politician tries to kill SS?

-A single politician can't do it.
-The day a politician tries it, it will be the end of their political career.  The same goes for anyone voting for it.

So basically... never. :)

Social Security has been called the "third rail" of politics. If you touch it, you die.  Older voters are also the most reliable voters when it comes to who actually shows up to the polls.

[Travis]

I prefer the sites that tell you what your tax burden will be in retirement for each state. I can guesstimate cost of living by looking at RE prices.

This is my favorite site:

https://smartasset.com/retirement/retirement-taxes

Loving this site so far.  We're a few years away from FIRE and I'm starting to put numbers to our retirement location calculations.  Calculating accurate cost of living is a pain in the ass.  Not every municipality calculates their utilities in the same manner so comparisons haven't been easy.  On top of that, knowing the rate for a utility is only useful if you know how much you're going to use it. For example, Arizona has low electricity rates compared to some of our other candidates; however, we know from first-hand experience we would use a ton of electricity compared to those other locations during the summer.

[Just Joe]

But how long until some politician tries to kill SS?

-A single politician can't do it.
-The day a politician tries it, it will be the end of their political career.  The same goes for anyone voting for it.

So basically... never. :)

Social Security has been called the "third rail" of politics. If you touch it, you die.  Older voters are also the most reliable voters when it comes to who actually shows up to the polls.

I kind of expected ACA to be the same way. Silly me... ;)