JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A new study ranks the Sunshine State as one of the 10 worst states for retirement security.
The report by Market Watch studied key areas that measure retirement readiness like unemployment rate and tax rate on retirement.
The report looked at eight key aspects including:
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- Unemployment rate for age 55 and up -- which is 7%.
- Percent of private sector employees in employer-sponsored retirement plans: 34%
- Average retirement account balance (excluding pensions): $23,381
- Percent of senior households who spend more than 30% on housing: 42.5%
One man who recently retired says he is surprised by the study. 70-year-old Harry Roberson used to work as an auto body technician. He spent 20 years working for Nimnicht, and another 20 years working for Chevrolet. He says he is now enjoying retirement.
Roberson says he started saving for retirement in the 80's. He suggests starting your savings early. Even if you're just starting your career, Roberson says it's never too early to save.
"Oh have mercy, if I hadn't saved back then, I wouldn't be around today. The cost of living is way up. Thank God I don't owe nobody nothing." He says with a laugh.
Titus Pittman, a financial planner from Genesis Financial Partners says one thing Floridians need to improve on is having more interest in personal investments.
"That includes your 401K, IRA's, and other personal investment accounts. Don't look for your pension or other programs that half fund your overall retirement because there's a lot of changes with social security so you want to be able to combat that if social security is for some reason not there in the future for those younger employees." advises Pittman.
Pittman also suggests getting a financial plan in place that will allow you to project 15-20 years in the future, what retirement will look like for you.