Saving enough for a comfortable retirement can be a tough needle to thread, especially in light of increased household spending. A new report from J.P. Morgan Asset Management reveals that retirees are spending more in their early years than they have in the past, while simultaneously keeping assets in their workplace retirement plans in order to continue generating income. Even so, the research found that plan participants are spending more than they've put in, boosting the likelihood of outliving their savings. But it's not just spending and saving habits that contribute to ease of retirement. Geography plays a big part in financial health, and if the state where you live presents challenges in the form of housing prices and cost of living, retiring may feel less like a reachable goal than a rapidly fading dream. Personal finance site MagnifyMoney has released an index of states where adults 65 and older are best (or worst) positioned to retire. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 1-year American Community Survey study, the researchers considered factors including poverty rates, homeownership and retirement incomes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to that data, 8.9% of older adults in the country are below the poverty threshold. Poverty rates are higher than the average in 19 states and the District of Columbia, with New Mexico leading the list. The study also found that states in the Northeast tend to have the least financially secure older adults,with New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Connecticut all falling in the bottom 10. No matter where you live, it's best to be realistic about your options. "You might have to refigure what retirement looks like for you," says MagnifyMoney senior content director Ismat Mangla. "For example, maybe you continue working in a part-time or different capacity, or perhaps you find ways to cut expenses significantly, like through moving." See our slideshow above for the best and worst states for older adults to retire, and click here for the full study.
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