$1M In Retirement Savings Lasts This Long In NJ, Study Says

NEW JERSEY — If you want to retire comfortably in the Garden State, having a million-dollar nest egg will only cover your living expenses for about a dozen years, a new study says.

The latest study from GoBankingRates found that $1 million in savings will go farther in 45 other states than it does in New Jersey, as the cost of living continues to rise.

In New Jersey, the study says a resident could live comfortably for 12 and a half years if they have $1 million saved up for retirement — that is without Social Security benefits factored in.

And while this number is somewhat standard for a comfortable retirement, 28 percent of people told the personal finance site that they didn't have anything saved at all — and most of the others surveyed did not have close to seven figures.

GoBankingRates analyzed numerous categories to come up with their final number, using data from U.S. Census American Community Survey, Missouri’s Economic and Research Information Center the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, and various cost-of-living indexes.

Here's how much they found some basic needs would cost on an annual basis in New Jersey:

• Annual groceries cost: $5,164
• Annual housing cost: $16,399
• Annual utilities cost: $4,356
• Annual transportation cost: $4,886
• Annual healthcare cost: $8,528
• Overall annual costs: $79,957

If you take Social Security benefits into account, that annual cost of living drops to $41,315, allowing that $1 million to stretch about 24 years in New Jersey.

Unsurprisingly, the states where a million would not go very far at all are some of the most wealthy. Only Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, and Washington state are more expensive to retire in, per the GoBankingRates study; $1 million would only last 7.3 years in Hawaii.

Retiring with $1 million would last the longest in West Virginia (24.5 years), Mississippi (23.3 years), and Arkansas (22.6 years), the study said.

Check out the full study here.

Related article — NJ Is One Of The Worst States For Retirees, Study Says