A 2019 report from the Federal Reserve found that nearly one in every four American adults have no retirement savings. During the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, that share has likely grown. Despite stimulus payments and enhanced unemployment benefits, millions of Americans have reduced retirement account contributions or stopped them entirely — some have even been forced to make withdrawals. Here is what you can do if the coronavirus is threatening your retirement.

At age 65, Americans are expected to live an average of another 19.4 years, and the typical retirement-age American spends $50,220 a year. Multiply those figures, and add in a little extra for unforeseen expenses and additional financial security, and a comfortable retirement costs an estimated $1,120,408 in the United States.

With a warm climate in much of the state, Arizona is an attractive place for many Americans to spend their golden years. Additionally, the cost of a comfortable retirement in Arizona is closely in line with the national average. Accounting for both cost of living and average life expectancy, the average American retiring in Arizona is projected to spend $1,117,884 — only about $2,500 more than the typical U.S. retiree.

Arizona’s population is older than that of the country on average. An estimated 18.0% of state residents are of retirement age, compared to 16.5% of all Americans.

State level calculations in this story are based on the average annual expenditure of $50,220 for Americans 65 years and older in 2019, as reported in the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. This figure is adjusted by state to account for both cost of living and life expectancy at age 65, and then multiplied by 115% in order to reflect greater financial stability and comfort in retirement. All data in this story is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

 

Rank	State	How much you need to comfortably retire	Life expectancy at age 65 (yrs.)	Cost of living
1	Hawaii	$1,481,336	86.5	19.3% more than avg.
2	California	$1,391,547	85.7	16.4% more than avg.
3	New York	$1,383,635	85.6	16.3% more than avg.
4	New Jersey	$1,359,968	85.3	16.0% more than avg.
5	Massachusetts	$1,268,810	84.9	10.4% more than avg.
6	Washington	$1,245,825	84.9	8.4% more than avg.
7	Connecticut	$1,237,069	85.4	5.0% more than avg.
8	Maryland	$1,219,120	84.6	7.7% more than avg.
9	Florida	$1,184,110	85.3	1% more than avg.
10	New Hampshire	$1,180,933	84.2	6.5% more than avg.
11	Vermont	$1,178,958	84.8	3.1% more than avg.
12	Colorado	$1,177,006	85.0	1.9% more than avg.
13	Alaska	$1,159,339	84.1	5.1% more than avg.
14	Oregon	$1,150,960	84.5	2.2% more than avg.
15	Minnesota	$1,148,938	85.3	2.0% less than avg.
16	Rhode Island	$1,146,674	84.6	1.3% more than avg.
17	Virginia	$1,140,824	84.5	1.3% more than avg.
18	Arizona	$1,117,884	85.1	3.7% less than avg.
19	Delaware	$1,113,686	84.4	0.6% less than avg.
20	Illinois	$1,096,903	84.5	2.6% less than avg.
21	Utah	$1,086,767	84.5	3.5% less than avg.
22	Maine	$1,072,421	83.7	0.7% less than avg.
23	Texas	$1,070,048	84.2	3.5% less than avg.
24	Pennsylvania	$1,064,388	84.0	3.0% less than avg.
25	Nevada	$1,063,152	83.9	2.6% less than avg.
26	Wisconsin	$1,045,578	84.7	8.1% less than avg.
27	New Mexico	$1,036,476	84.7	8.9% less than avg.
28	Idaho	$1,033,016	84.4	7.8% less than avg.
29	Wyoming	$1,029,020	84.2	7.2% less than avg.
30	Michigan	$1,007,484	83.9	7.7% less than avg.
31	North Dakota	$1,005,682	84.5	10.7% less than avg.
32	Nebraska	$1,002,765	84.4	10.5% less than avg.
33	Iowa	$1,002,303	84.5	11.0% less than avg.
34	North Carolina	$1,000,935	83.9	8.3% less than avg.
35	Montana	$998,983	83.5	6.5% less than avg.
36	Georgia	$995,777	83.5	6.8% less than avg.
37	South Dakota	$983,718	84.4	12.2% less than avg.
38	Kansas	$978,798	84.0	10.8% less than avg.
39	South Carolina	$967,045	83.3	8.5% less than avg.
40	Missouri	$952,821	83.6	11.3% less than avg.
41	Indiana	$942,575	83.4	11.3% less than avg.
42	Tennessee	$937,660	83.1	10.3% less than avg.
43	Ohio	$929,176	83.2	11.6% less than avg.
44	Louisiana	$918,844	83.1	12.1% less than avg.
45	Oklahoma	$901,455	82.9	12.8% less than avg.
46	Kentucky	$883,332	82.5	12.6% less than avg.
47	West Virginia	$880,300	82.5	12.9% less than avg.
48	Alabama	$877,072	82.7	14.2% less than avg.
49	Arkansas	$875,611	82.9	15.3% less than avg.
50	Mississippi	$857,886	82.6	15.6% less than avg.

 

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