Given many of the headwinds faced by American retirees, it can be a difficult proposition to try and figure out where someone might have a fighting chance to adequately save and fund retirement in their older years. To that end, looking at the dynamics which can affect the prospects of retirement savings becomes a more important necessity for people preparing to plan for the future, or for those who may plan to more actively employ home equity in the pursuit of retirement financing.
To better appraise the current retirement prospects in specific states, Forbes Advisor has compiled a list of the best states in which to save for retirement and in one instance highlights improved potential for reverse mortgage products.
“Where you live dictates how precarious your journey may be, however. That’s why Forbes Advisor set out to select the best states to save for retirement: You need to know what you’re up against,” the story reads. “To determine our list, we analyzed eight different categories of data that directly impact people’s ability to save for retirement: participation rate in employer-sponsored plans, household income, tax burden, cost of living, home value, historic home appreciation rates, historic unemployment rates and the amount people currently have in retirement accounts.”
The rankings are as follows for the top 5 states:
- New Hampshire
- Washington
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Colorado
In the case of Washington, which has risen to the second spot, the potential for reverse mortgages was cited as one of the potential feathers in its proverbial cap.
“The Evergreen state rose to second place thanks in large part to its housing prices,” the article reads. “Not only were home values the third highest, but it was also the fifth fastest growing state for property gains over the past decade.”
It’s this which has directly led to the potential prospects of a reverse mortgage or other form of home equity tapping, it says.
“That combination means future retirees can build up equity in their home more quickly than in other states, giving you a flexible asset to use in retirement, whether empty-nesters want to downsize and add the difference to their nest egg, or tap their equity through a HELOC or even a reverse mortgage,” the story reads. “Washingtonians face a looser labor market than other states in our top five and a decently high cost of living, thanks in part to high home costs. You can’t have everything in life, and those factors conspired to keep the state from a first-place finish.”
Read the story at Forbes Advisor.
