Some states are doing better than others when it comes to providing financial security for future retirees, but all states have room for improvement, according to a new analysis by the National Institute on Retirement Security.
The report ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia in three major areas: potential retirement income; major retiree costs such as housing and health care; and labor market conditions.
Only 35% of the states maintained their same score from NIRS' 2000 analysis, while others increased or decreased their score in various categories.
For potential future retirement income, the average workplace retirement place participation rate in the private sector dropped to 46% in 2012 nationwide, from 52.3% in 2000. The highest private-sector workplace participation rate was 54%.
In 2012, the four highest-scoring states in a total of eight categories were Wyoming, Alaska, Minnesota and North Dakota, all of which had relatively strong labor markets and low retiree costs. The lowest-scoring states were California, Florida and South Carolina, for a variety of reasons.
The report, “The Financial Security Scorecard: A State-by-State Analysis of Economic Pressures on Future Retirees,” is available on NIRS website.
