These Are The Best States to Retire In To Make Your Retirement Savings Last

How to Decide Where to Retire

There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding where to settle down in retirement. Maybe you want to be close to family, find a beachside paradise or be within walking distance of a scenic golf course. No matter your retirement dreams, we think you should also consider the financial ramifications of your move. That’s why we put together a list of the best states for retirement.

How We Chose The Best States For Retirement

Retirement taxes and cost of living are two great metrics to start your retirement dream hunting. However, it can sometimes feel overwhelming looking at the data alone. We looked at the metrics mentioned previously and more to find what we consider the five most retirement friendly states for your wallet. 

Mississippi 

Mississippi earns a spot on our retirement friendly list because it has one of most retirement-friendly tax policies of all the states. While you do pay state income taxes on income in general, Mississippi does not collect taxes on social security, pensions, IRAs or 401(k) withdrawals — effectively making your retirement income tax-free. 

It also has low housing costs and property taxes, earning it’s #5 ranking of states with the most affordable cost of living in the U.S. In addition, Mississippi is a good place for your heirs because there is no estate or inheritance tax. Be warned, Mississippi does have rather high sales taxes so it isn’t financially perfect, but we think overall it’s pretty close to a home run. 

Arkansas

It’s Arkansas’s low cost of living that makes it one of the best states for retirement. It’s ranked in the top states for affordability and consistently comes out in the top 10 when it comes to housing, groceries and transportation savings. Arkansas also offers no taxes on social security, low property taxes and relatively low state income tax. Basically, you can rest easy because you know you’ll be able to stretch your retirement savings a long way. 

Tennessee

Tennessee offers retirees no state income taxes to speak of. No matter how you’re preparing for retirement, you won’t be taxed when you pull out your savings. It also has low property taxes and low housing costs. With a 10th place score in cost of living, Tennessee is an affordable place to buy a home, grocery shop and savor some of the finer things in life.  

Georgia

Georgia is a little lower on our cost of living list, but still holds its own by ranking just outside the top 10. It has no social security tax or estate or inheritance taxes. While sales taxes are high, groceries are exempt from it, and property taxes are low. Combined with the overall low house prices, it’s pretty affordable overall. 

As an added bonus, people over the age of 65 can deduct as much as $65,000 in retirement income per person on their state taxes (if you’re 62-64, that deduction falls to $35,000).  It doesn’t quite make it as nice as no state income tax, but it does help make Georgia more affordable. 

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is considered tax-friendly toward retirees with no social security income tax and only taxing withdrawals from retirement accounts partially. Plus, what you are taxed might not be that much. Oklahoma’s state income tax begins at just .25% and only goes as high as 4.75%.

It also ranks well in cost of living, stealing the second spot overall. Plus, Oklahoma doesn’t tax inheritances and provides a $10,000 deduction at tax time toward other types of retirement income. Like other Midwest states, the sales tax is a little high, but the low property prices help to offset that hit. 

Are You Ready to Go?

We found our winners when it comes to retirement savings, but don’t panic if your favorite destination isn’t on the list. While finances are important, there are a lot of factors that’ll go into choosing the best state for you. We simply think any choice should be a financially informed one. In fact, if the state you’re considering is a little more expensive, check out our Tips on Retiring Comfortably Without Being A Millionaire to still have an awesome retirement. Above all, we hope you can glide into your golden years financially prepared.

Other Ways to Save & Make Money for Retirement

1. Earn as Much as $1K/Month Doing Simple Online Tasks

Is there such a thing as easy money? If you know your way around the web, there certainly is.

That’s because data is currency these days, and many companies are willing to pay cash for it — up to $1,000 per month.

Finding these companies can be time-consuming on your own. But a company called Freecash has compiled all sorts of quick cash tasks from about a dozen advertisers and market research companies thirsty for more data. Freecash has paid out over $13 million to users since 2019.

You can pick and choose your tasks and complete them at your convenience. The coins you earn from each completed task can be converted into Visa gift cards, Amazon gift cards, cryptocurrency, or cold-hard PayPal cash.

Signing up for a Freecash account is easy, and there’s no minimum amount you need to earn before you can cash out. And if you’ve got enough free time on your hands, you can join the ranks of Freecash users making more than $1,000 a month in extra cash.

Sign up here to see how much you could earn.

2. Your Car Insurance is Ripping You Off — Cut $996 From Your Bill

You might not even realize it, but your car insurance company is probably overcharging you. In fact, they’re kind of counting on you not noticing. Luckily, this problem is easy to fix.

Don’t waste your time browsing insurance sites for a better deal. A company called Insurify shows you all your options at once — people who do this save up to $996 per year.

If you tell them a bit about yourself and your vehicle, they’ll send you personalized quotes so you can compare them and find the best one for you.

Tired of overpaying for car insurance? It takes just five minutes to compare your options with Insurify and see how much you could save on car insurance.

3. Get Paid $225/Month While Watching Movie Previews

If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?

But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.

No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.

Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.

Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.

4. Add $1000 to Your Wallet for Trying Out Apps

Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. You can browse Facebook; play a game; download a new app.

You’re doing all this anyway — why not get paid for it? With a website called KashKick, you could get paid for things like answering survey questions or downloading and playing a game — up to $1000 in your first month.

You can earn money by playing games or trying new products and services, but surveys are the main way to make money.

Once you earn $10 in your account, you can immediately get paid via Paypal. This is an easy way to make a little extra money while you’re killing time on your couch. All you need is your phone or computer.

It takes just a minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately earn $1 just for completing your profile on the site. You’ll be that much closer to cashing out.

5. This Free Debit Card Gives You Cash Back on Every Purchase

Let’s cut to the chase: If you don’t get cash back on every purchase, you’re overpaying. And who doesn’t like cash back?

We do. The Discover® Cashback Debit account will pay you 1% cash back on up to $3,000 monthly (that’s potentially an extra $360 annually).* There’s no impact on your credit score for signing up and no minimum balance requirements ever.

Need groceries? Tap your card for cash back. Early Pay direct deposit allows you to get paid sooner, protect against overdrafts, and access over 60,000 ATMs without fees. The app allows you to handle all of your banking needs and connect a virtual wallet like Apple Pay to amplify your rewards. Checking account deposits are FDIC-insured up to the maximum amount allowed by law. 

Does your bank do all that? If not, open a free Discover checking account to get special treatment from a bank that will actually put money back into your account. 

*See website for details.

Contributor Whitney Hansen covers banking, credit cards and investing for The Penny Hoarder. She also writes on other personal finance topics.