Virginia 11th Best State for Retiring Rich

By TIM DARNELL and MARY ANN BARTON (Patch Staff)

'Do I have enough money saved for retirement?' — it's a question on the minds of many soon-to-be retirees and Americans across the country — and for good reason. One-third of Americans lack any retirement savings.

GOBankingRates surveyed all 50 states plus the District of Columbia to determine not only what's affordable, but where you can actually maximize your retirement savings and live comfortably.

Virginia came in at No. 11 on the list.

Here's what the study noted about Virginia:

• Average Social Security benefits: $1,336.22
• Average health insurance premium: $276
• Average Medicare spending per capita: $8,289.62
• Average savings interest rate: 0.342%
• Average 2-year CD interest rate: 0.761%
• Average home listing price: $330,773

Property tax and sales tax in Virginia are lower than the majority of states, but the home prices are higher than most: The average listing price is $330,773 (and that's statewide, not the average in Northern Virginia). Lower Medicare spending per capita might be another drag on retirement, but Virginia is still the 11th best state to retire rich.

Based off of taxes, living expenses, banking rates, health insurance costs and Social Security payments, here is your financial guide to the best and worst states to retire rich.

The best:

1. Delaware
2. Michigan
3. Indiana
4. Maryland
5. Florida
6. New Jersey
7. Pennsylvania
8. Mississippi
9. Ohio
10. Georgia
11. Virginia

And the worst:

1. Hawaii
2. Vermont
3. North Dakota
4. Montana
5. New Mexico
6. Alaska
7. Colorado
8. West Virginia
9. Maine
10. Nebraska

Here are some other findings:

Retirees Might Consider Migrating to the Right

• The 10 best states to retire rich lie east of the Mississippi River
• New Jersey pays the most Social Security money to retirees, with an average payout of $1,452.47 per month
• Eight of the 10 states with the lowest average house listing are located in the eastern portion of the country

Surprise! The West Isn't Best

• Even with the lowest property tax in the nation, Hawaii ranks as the worst state to retire rich due to its extremely high average home listing price and cost of living index
• Alaska's average health insurance premiums top the most expensive list at a whopping $719
• Seven of the 10 worst states to retire rich are located in the West/Midwest
• Western states Montana, Oregon and New Mexico spend an average $3,733.83 less on Medicare for their citizens per year than eastern states like New Jersey, Maryland and Connecticut

"While warmer places like Arizona tend to be popular destinations to retire, our study found that states located on the East Coast in general offer retirees the most bang for their buck," said Kristen Bonner, lead researcher on the study. "We found that these states have lower home prices on average, as well as relatively low health insurance premiums and Social Security benefits among the highest in the country."

Methodology: GOBankingRates ranked these states based on the results of original research and analysis of costs affecting retirees. This cost analysis was based on four types of factors affecting retires: taxes, living expenses, banking, and healthcare and Social Security. These four types of factors were broken down as into sets of data points.

IMAGE courtesy of GO Banking Rates