You Need About $1 Million To Retire Comfortably In Iowa

At this point retiring anywhere isn't cheap. In fact, Iowa is the 17th cheapest state to retire in even with a price tag close to $1 million. At least you're not in Hawaii... sure they have a lot of beauty, but you'd need about $ 2 million to retire there comfortably. 

Thankfully Iowa isn't at a million yet, but over the next few years, it will most likely hit that point.

Least Affordable Places To Retire

According to CNBC, these are the least affordable places to retire.

1. Hawaii
2. California
3. Connecticut
4. Massachusetts
5. New Jersey

Most Affordable Places To Retire

Another study was released about the cheapest places to live.

1. Michigan
2. Tennessee
3. Missouri
4. Mississippi
5. Kentucky

It looks like if you head south the prices do drop a bit.

How They Got These numbers

what does comfortable mean? The CNBC site goes on to say,

But a “comfortable” retirement can mean different things to different people. It’s important to first determine what that looks like for you, says Michael Liersch, head of advice and planning for wealth and investment management at Wells Fargo.

There are plenty of different ways to look at it so we went to hecentersquare.com,

The calculation used to create total retirement spending is based on the average annual expenditure for U.S. residents 65 years and older in 2020 of $47,579, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We adjusted that figure by local cost of living from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and average life expectancy in years at age 65 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and multiplied the result by 115% in order to reflect greater financial stability and comfort in retirement.

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Just How Much Does It Cost To Live In Iowa

Iowa is just under a million with $961,471 needed to retire "comfortably" again that means you're doing a lot and having fun in your late 60s early 70s. If you don't plan on doing anything... you probably don't need as much. hecentersquare went on to say,

In Iowa, average retirement spending stands at an estimated $961,471 - the 17th lowest among states. Goods and services in the state are 9.0% less expensive than they are, on average, nationwide, and life expectancy at age 65 is 19.3 years to 84.3, compared to 19.5 years to 84.5 across the country as a whole.

So in the end Iowa isn't too bad a spot to spend your golden years, especially if you have family here. It should also be noted,

estimated retirement spending is not synonymous with retirement savings. For example, once Americans reach age 62, they can start collecting Social Security retirement benefits, which amounts to an average monthly payment of $1,560 and can be as high as $3,240 per month. While this is not nearly enough to cover most spending, it is a significant source of income that should be considered when deciding on savings needs. Retirement spending and financial needs also vary considerably from one person to the next.

Where do you plan on retiring?