Ever dream of what you’ll do in retirement, and where you’ll want — or need — to live?
WalletHub’s recent study of the 150 largest U.S. cities indicates the best and worst places to retire in 2015, with rankings determined by a series of 24 metrics across four categories: affordability, activities, quality of life and healthcare. (Click here for a related post.)
It is no surprise, then, that four cities in Florida rank among the top 10 best cities for retirement, while two cities in Arizona make the cut. Topping the list is Tampa, Fla., which has an excellent affordability ranking for retirees. Interestingly, Tampa’s also among the nation’s top cities for home price increases, which stands at 11.7 percent against the U.S. average of 7.4 percent, according to one of JLL’s Aug. 24 Charts of the Week.
Here are the 10 best U.S. cities for retirement:
- Tampa, Fla.
- Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Boise, Idaho
- Cape Coral, Fla.
- Orlando, Fla.
- Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Baton Rouge, La.
- Port St. Lucie, Fla.
- Overland Park, Kan.
- Peoria, Ariz.
And here are the 10 worst U.S. cities for retirement:
- Newark, N.J.
- Jersey City, N.J.
- Providence, R.I.
- Aurora, Ill.
- New York City
- Yonkers, N.Y.
- Chicago
- Boston
- Worcester, Mass.
- Detroit
Data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute indicates more U.S. workers are feeling financially capable of retiring, according to the institute’s 2015 Retirement Confidence Survey, with 22 percent of workers feeling very confident and 36 being somewhat confident they have enough money to retire comfortably. This is an increase over 2014 survey figures, and even more so over 2009 to 2013, when worker confidence was at record lows.
Confidence in retirement affordability has a number of factors — such as the ability to pay for basic expenses, medical expenses and long-term care — and those, too, have improved in the 2015 survey.
With the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s recent wild ride on news of China’s economic policy changes and stock market drops, the focus for many institutional investors is not on whether they can truly afford to retire, but on how to handle underfunded liabilities for future retirees.
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Jennifer Molloy is editor of Institutional Real Estate Asia Pacific.
