Here's the Only State Where Retirees Have Enough Income

The problems retirees encounter trying to secure lifetime income know no bounds: In 49 states those past the age of 65, on average, fall short of a widely accepted benchmark for minimum income in retirement, new research shows.

Financial advisers generally agree you need at least 70% of pre-retirement income to maintain your lifestyle after calling it quits. Many say 80% to 85% is a more appropriate target.

But even using the lower bar, Nevada is the only state where the typical retiree has sufficient income to live comfortably in retirement, according to a study from Interest.com, a division of Bankrate, a financial information provider. The District of Columbia also makes the cut. But every other jurisdiction in the nation falls short, underscoring the scope of the retirement income crisis in America.

Nationally, the median income for those who are 65 and older equals just 60% of the median income for those aged 45 to 64, the study found. In Nevada, median income for those past 65 is 71%. In Washington D.C., the figure is 74%. States that get close to the minimum retirement income level are Hawaii (69%), Arizona (68%) and Mississippi (68%). At the bottom are Massachusetts (49%) and North Dakota (49%).

The national rate represents a jump of 10 percentage points over the past decade. But that is not as encouraging as it may appear, reflecting trends where older Americans stay on the job longer and young workers fail to see significant wage gains. The share of Americans working past 65 has been increasing for 20 years and reached 18.9% this May, one of the highest levels in the last half century.

Washington D.C. tops the retirement income list in large measure because of its huge population of retired federal employees, many of who have generous traditional pension plans. Nevada (along with Arizona and Mississippi) benefits from a low cost of living; the costs of food, housing, utilities, transportation and medical care in Reno, Nev., are just 67% of such costs in Washington D.C.

Hawaii is one of the most expensive places on Earth to retire. But it measures up well in this study because the state has a strong traditional pension culture. It may also help that wealthy people choose it as their retirement destination. At the bottom, Massachusetts (like much of the Northeast) has long suffered from a high cost of living while North Dakota recently has seen its cost of living soar amid an oil boom in that state.