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The Most Realistic Retirement Age in Every State

At what age do you hope to retire? If you’re like the majority of workers, you’re probably planning to stop punching the clock by the time you turn 65.

A survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that 54% of respondents said they expect to retire at age 65 or younger. However, a significant percentage of workers expect to keep clocking in until they’re much older. One-third of respondents said they don’t expect to retire until they’re 70 or older. Some don’t plan to retire at all.

It’s one thing to have an idea of when you want to retire. It’s another thing altogether to know whether you’ll actually be able to retire. Several factors can affect your retirement plans — including whether you’ll have enough saved by your ideal retirement age to stop working. The EBRI survey found that less than half of workers — 42% — had tried to figure out how much they would need to have saved by the time they retired to live comfortably.

Using an online retirement calculator is a great way to get an estimate of how much you should save to retire by a certain age. To give you an idea, though, of when you might realistically be able to retire and how much in savings you would need depending on where you live, GOBankingRates crunched the numbers for you.

To determine the most realistic retirement age in every state, GOBankingRates first calculated the median income by age in every state using Census Bureau data to find out how much people could set aside in savings at various ages. Then GOBankingRates used findings from its January 2020 study on how much savings one needs across America to retire comfortably to pinpoint an ideal savings target amount for each state. To find out how long it would take workers in every state to save up to the state’s ideal savings target, GOBankingRates assumed the following:

  • Workers started work at age 22.

  • Workers followed the 50/30/20 rule — allocating 50% of personal income to necessities, 30% to wants and 20% to savings.

  • Of the 20% of income that went into savings, 14% was put in a typical savings account and 6% was put into a 401(k) with a 50% employer match (up to 3%). In addition, the average annual return on investments in the 401(k) was assumed to be 5%.

Using the above assumptions, GOBankingRates found how much a worker in each state earning a median income could have saved at ages 24, 34, 44 and 58 to 77 years of age. Once the ideal savings target — as identified by the earlier GOBankingRates’ study — was met or exceeded, the following year was determined to be the ideal retirement age of each state.

You might be surprised to find that if you start saving 20% of your income starting at age 22, the realistic retirement age in your state might be sooner than you think. Or you might have to work longer than you expected.

Last updated: Aug. 20, 2020

Alabama

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $723,989

  • Total savings at 59: $759,485

Alaska

  • Realistic retirement age: 64

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,213,517

  • Total savings at 64: $1,301,392

Arizona

  • Realistic retirement age: 58

  • How much savings you need to retire: $862,583

  • Total savings at 58: $905,975

Arkansas

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $697,288

  • Total savings at 59: $757,128

California

  • Realistic retirement age: 66

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,369,911

  • Total savings at 66: $1,442,638

Colorado

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $908,357

  • Total savings at 56: $970,746

Find Out Why: 64% of Americans Aren’t Prepared For Retirement — and 48% Don’t Care

Connecticut

  • Realistic retirement age: 62

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,184,272

  • Total savings at 62: $1,263,773

Delaware

  • Realistic retirement age: 60

  • How much savings you need to retire: $960,488

  • Total savings at 60: $1,033,545

Florida

  • Realistic retirement age: 61

  • How much savings you need to retire: $843,510

  • Total savings at 61: $907,809

Georgia

  • Realistic retirement age: 57

  • How much savings you need to retire: $737,976

  • Total savings at 57: $776,321

Hawaii

  • Realistic retirement age: 74

  • How much savings you need to retire: $2,151,884

  • Total savings at 74: $2,252,310

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Idaho

  • Realistic retirement age: 58

  • How much savings you need to retire: $797,736

  • Total savings at 58: $854,264

Illinois

  • Realistic retirement age: 54

  • How much savings you need to retire: $804,094

  • Total savings at 54: $850,543

Indiana

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $745,605

  • Total savings at 56: $796,066

Iowa

  • Realistic retirement age: 54

  • How much savings you need to retire: $767,220

  • Total savings at 54: $833,240

Kansas

  • Realistic retirement age: 54

  • How much savings you need to retire: $703,645

  • Total savings at 54: $775,280

Kentucky

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $774,849

  • Total savings at 59: $829,737

Louisiana

  • Realistic retirement age: 61

  • How much savings you need to retire: $773,578

  • Total savings at 61: $830,209

Maine

  • Realistic retirement age: 65

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,083,824

  • Total savings at 65: $1,154,700

Maryland

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,238,947

  • Total savings at 59: $1,311,381

Massachusetts

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,249,119

  • Total savings at 59: $1,313,236

Michigan

  • Realistic retirement age: 55

  • How much savings you need to retire: $732,890

  • Total savings at 55: $767,587

Minnesota

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $871,483

  • Total savings at 56: $954,570

Mississippi

  • Realistic retirement age: 61

  • How much savings you need to retire: $666,772

  • Total savings at 61: $710,727

Missouri

  • Realistic retirement age: 55

  • How much savings you need to retire: $725,261

  • Total savings at 55: $783,803

Montana

  • Realistic retirement age: 63

  • How much savings you need to retire: $963,031

  • Total savings at 63: $1,045,703

Learn: 10 Best Retirement Plan Options

Nebraska

  • Realistic retirement age: 54

  • How much savings you need to retire: $758,320

  • Total savings at 54: $819,381

Nevada

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $899,456

  • Total savings at 59: $940,900

New Hampshire

  • Realistic retirement age: 55

  • How much savings you need to retire: $956,674

  • Total savings at 55: $1,032,939

New Jersey

  • Realistic retirement age: 61

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,174,100

  • Total savings at 61: $1,232,297

New Mexico

  • Realistic retirement age: 60

  • How much savings you need to retire: $720,175

  • Total savings at 60: $767,592

New York

  • Realistic retirement age: 66

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,308,879

  • Total savings at 66: $1,376,839

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North Carolina

  • Realistic retirement age: 60

  • How much savings you need to retire: $797,736

  • Total savings at 60: $848,448

North Dakota

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $820,623

  • Total savings at 56: $883,964

Ohio

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $772,306

  • Total savings at 56: $819,207

Oklahoma

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $687,116

  • Total savings at 56: $723,520

Oregon

  • Realistic retirement age: 66

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,334,309

  • Total savings at 66: $1,415,540

Pennsylvania

  • Realistic retirement age: 58

  • How much savings you need to retire: $874,026

  • Total savings at 58: $938,573

Rhode Island

  • Realistic retirement age: 64

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,099,082

  • Total savings at 64: $1,178,929

South Carolina

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $801,551

  • Total savings at 59: $873,676

South Dakota

  • Realistic retirement age: 58

  • How much savings you need to retire: $819,352

  • Total savings at 58: $864,955

Tennessee

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $707,460

  • Total savings at 56: $745,133

See: Here’s How To Retire Early and Quit the Daily Grind

Texas

  • Realistic retirement age: 57

  • How much savings you need to retire: $762,134

  • Total savings at 57: $831,450

Utah

  • Realistic retirement age: 53

  • How much savings you need to retire: $815,537

  • Total savings at 53: $887,851

Vermont

  • Realistic retirement age: 60

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,060,937

  • Total savings at 60: $1,113,893

Virginia

  • Realistic retirement age: 54

  • How much savings you need to retire: $885,470

  • Total savings at 54: $935,494

Washington

  • Realistic retirement age: 56

  • How much savings you need to retire: $1,003,719

  • Total savings at 56: $1,059,694

West Virginia

  • Realistic retirement age: 60

  • How much savings you need to retire: $754,505

  • Total savings at 60: $803,997

Wisconsin

  • Realistic retirement age: 57

  • How much savings you need to retire: $811,723

  • Total savings at 57: $871,002

Wyoming

  • Realistic retirement age: 59

  • How much savings you need to retire: $889,284

  • Total savings at 59: $951,167

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: To determine the most realistic retirement age in every state, GOBankingRates first found median income in each state, according to the 2018 current population survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. To calculate income by age bracket (15-24, 25-34, etc.), GOBankingRates first divided the median income of each state by the median income nationally to derive an income index that was use to factor out income by age for each state. Once the median income by age was calculated for each state, GOBankingRates found an ideal savings target for each state, sourced from a January 2020 GOBankingRates study (“Here’s Exactly How Much Savings You Need to Retire in Your State”), which assumes one will draw 4% from their savings each year to pay for living expenses. Finally, GOBankingRates set three constants for the type of savings that would occur: (1) workers start working at age 22; (2) workers are following the 50/30/20 rule (allocating 50% of personal income to necessities, 30% to wants and 20% to savings); and (3) workers are saving 14% in a typical savings account, in addition to putting 6% into a 401(k) with a 50% employer match (up to 3%) and an average annual return of 5%. Using those constants, GOBankingRates found the savings total of each state at 24, 34, 44 and 58-77 years of age. Once the ideal savings goal was met or exceeded, the following year was determined to be the ideal retirement age of each state. All data was collected and is-up-to date as of Jan. 8, 2020.

“Here’s Exactly How Much Savings You Need to Retire in Your State” methodology: To find out exactly how much is needed to retire in each state, GOBankingRates found the annual cost of expenditures for a retired person in each state by multiplying expenditures for those over the age of 65 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2018 Consumer Expenditure Survey by the cost-of-living index for each state from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s third quarter 2019 cost of living series. To find how much money a retired person would need to save, GOBankingRates divided each state’s annual expenditures, minus the annual Social Security income as sourced from the Social Security Administration’s monthly statistical snapshot, November 2019, by .04, assuming drawing down savings by 4% each year to pay for living expenses. All data was collected and is up-to-date as of Dec. 13, 2019.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Most Realistic Retirement Age in Every State

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