Choosing where to grow old is a highly personal decision that is based on several factors, such as home prices, proximity to family and friends, and lifestyle conditions. Would you like to include these U.S. states in your retirement plans?
Caring.com, an online resource site for caregivers, has released its nationwide ranking of the best places to grow old. The top choices were determined based on factors including quality of life and cost of senior care.
South Dakota – with just over 853,000 residents – bagged the top spot and outranked all other U.S. states based on combined quality of life, health care, and financial categories. The report highlighted the access to high-quality health service and care for the state’s elderly, with care costs hovering around the national average or about $36,000 annually for assisted living.
Neighboring Iowa and Minnesota ranked second and third, while Alaska and Oregon finished fourth and fifth in the ranking, which incorporated the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index for measuring purpose as well as financial, social, physical, and community wellness.
“At that age, we really need to start thinking about someplace that’s stable, someplace that’s safe and someplace that we can afford,” said Dr. Sara Zeff Geber, author and retirement planning specialist.
The study saw an overall inverse link between cost and quality care, with South Dakota and Iowa serving as perfect illustrations of a so-called sweet spot: “excellent care at below-average prices,” according to Caring.com.
If there are winning locations for one’s retirement years, there are also offenders. Emerging as the worst state for seniors is West Virginia, which occupied the last place in health care and quality of life. It joins New Jersey and New York in the bottom three – all heavily populated states dragged down by extremely high costs and below-average quality ratings.
"The main takeaway from this research is that the traditional retirement destinations don't always offer the best mix of cost and quality," argued author and Caring.com chief Dayna Steele, encouraging people to research on their best options while they’re still relatively healthy and young.
Second-placer Iowa, famed for its cornfields and rolling plains in the heart of the Midwest, approximates the national average in senior care costs. Minnesota boasts of enjoyable retirement despite being one of the coldest spots in the union, although it is quite pricier than the first two states with assisted living facility costs reaching up to $42,000 annually on average.
Check out this list for the worst states to grow old.
A separate study has associated working past the ripe age of 65 with a longer life. Analyzing about 18 years of data, Oregon State University researchers saw an 11 percent lower mortality risk among healthy elderly individuals who worked a year past the traditional retirement age.
Photo: Moyan Brenn | Flckr
