Hawaii among the worst states for retirees
A cool morning was an ideal time for a tai chi class in the park. A group of people met at Magic Island Sunday for a little exercise.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
A cool morning was an ideal time for a tai chi class in the park. A group of people met at Magic Island Saturday for a little exercise.
A new study ranks Hawaii at No. 49 out of the 50 states and District of Columbia, the third-worst state in the U.S. in which to retire.
Researchers for personal finance site WalletHub.com analyzed 24 factors including adjusted cost of living, public hospital rankings and entertainment options, to name a few.
Hawaii has the highest adjusted cost of living; the 49th-highest annual cost of in-home services, and the state is in the bottom five for number of museums per capita.
Conversely, Hawaii’s life expectancy rating tops the nation, and the Aloha State has an overall healthcare rank of fourth among all states and Washington D.C.
Despite that, Hawaii is not ranked among the states having the highest percentage of the population aged 65 and older. The state with the lowest life expectancy is Mississippi.
The overall winner of the best states for retirement study was Florida, with a total score of 70.75, compared to Hawaii’s 46.17. Florida’s affordability and quality of life rankings were second and third, respectively, while Hawaii’s were 49th and 42nd. Compared to Hawaii’s fourth-ranked healthcare status, Florida’s is at 15, according to the WalletHub analysis.
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125 responses to “Hawaii among the worst states for retirees”
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This is a good-thing! Locally we need to care for our own Kapuna. All others should go to that “Happy-Hunting-Ground” in Florida and play Mahjong…
It it said that when you retire, you are just waiting to die.
Perhaps literally, however until one leaves this ball of mud, you can enjoy and savor every bit of that time. Been to places like St Petersburg, 5 monthly trips to Spain, on 1 river and 20 ocean cruises, over 10 trips to Japan, London thrice, and a number of south Pacific island, including New Zealand, transiting the Panama Canal and Niagara Fall 3 times, plus other places that escapes my mind. That aside, have visited on work and leisure trips, all 50 States. With all those activities for a period of 10 years played golf every day when in town. Still have my golf cart that I use to drive to the corner super market here in Southern California from my retirement community.
What? Now we don’t have enough museums!
No museums is a good excuse to visit other places with the best ones. Hawaii is a perfect takeoff point to Asia and the Americas. Retirees love our weather. Best in the world. I still laugh at my old Jewish classmate who jealously bragged they had snow and we didn’t. You can have it. Welcome to the new reality of ice, wind, and fire.
We have more than enough museums for the residents who are into museums and that kind of stuff, which is not very many.
We also have Google and the travel and weather channels. Lest we forget ESPN.
Hawaii locals don’t even know what a “museum” is.
My dad’s house is a museum. Happy hoarding, folks. Still has my baby clothes. And receipts from GEM store.
Baseball gloves that came from Arakawa’s left by my deceased dad. Bless his loving soul. I won’t forget Dad.
Be nice to dad. After all, we only have one dad.
But what about Korean hostess bars per capita and churches per square mile? We gotta be right up there with the best;)
You must know that our elected ones hang out there most of the time.
Billy Kenoi?
Billy goat.
We’re number ONE in Korean bars. Dats for sure.
What kind of bars? Exercise bars in the bar?
U buy me drinkie Mikie;)
You have never been to Koreatown in LA, it has us easily beat….
Monster drink?
Hawaii has been very good to us; both our working lives and now in retirement. I can’t complain a bit and am very grateful.
Circa, the year of the, 1800s, maybe.
Home is where the heart is.
Some of us do not have a heart.
Wrong organ. What you don’t have is about 35cm north.
Cellodad, totally agree.
agree..as an indigenous Mandan, I have been treated well at the UH. Hawaiians especially. They love to meet legitimate indigenous tribal members. Hawaiians themselves are not that of course. I do miss the cost of living in North Dakota, the quality of material life and the outstanding fall colors.
Shut the hell up….whhy dont you mention about the fracking, rampant corruption and sex trade that happens within your tribe?!
Marry, allie, and the entire tribe will be moving in with the groom.
You talking about OHA hon?
More like, Oh. Ha. Ha. Ha, allie. Hawaii ‘ s funny farm.
Cost of living in ND was higher than in Hawaii when the oil drilling boom was at its climax, allie.
only in the oil patch. Not where I was raised.
Wildlife raised allie?
While I’m not yet in retirement I can somewhat agree and I am grateful. However, I can’t say that I believe that my children will have the same experience. In fact, my daughter has already moved to the mainland for a better job and life and my son is under-employed and still living at home (in his 30’s). This state has not been and may never be progressive in its thinking about creating an environment results in good jobs and a robust economy. Instead its been about benefiting insiders, the public unions and legislators. Now we have to live in an environment created by decades to neglect.
Go move to Africa if you hate the union so much.
You are right. If people actually planned for their future, made sure their house was paid off and live within their means it is a wonderful place to retire. We have the best weather in the USA.
Best weather is in the month of August for the air conditioning store.
Me too!!
Cellodad, as always you’re one of the best and level headed posters with my respect and aloha!
My puppies have always looked up to Cellodad.
I guess that, oxtail01, is content with the potholes in Honolulu nei?
I grumble and i am a pacific islander who grew up here and returned after 36 years because of mom who is now in the heavens. I am counting the days i can return to the mainland where housing is affordable, people do not spend their time gossiping and being passive aggressive and where the workplace is a joy to be in. Wow Vegas twice a year… lots of local grumble and many are leaving.. What is the Aloha spirit? allowing 2 out of 5 children to go hungry or allowing a continuous military build up or making it almost impossible to grow food to sustain the islands and not be so dependent. gee, we have the highest ranking for killing seniors on crosswalks, a high road rage problem and corruption fitting for a developing country back in the early 20th century. Gee Meals on Wheels has a roaring business…. the aloha spirit is alive and well for the thousands of people who rely on Meals for companionship and food, the Hawaiians who are in jail, the high percentages of native peoples in special ed and in the juvenile system. Impressive Monsanto has the Aloha spirit with its spreading of pesticides and carcinogens..the list is endless. This is not Paradise, that is a construct for the tourists. we live in a place where species extinction is rapid, our oceans are polluted….Seriously, what makes Hawaii paradise as opposed to other places.
Yep. You convinced me. Now go a d convince the lawmakers in Hawaii.
The irony is that what lead to this lousy ranking is the high cost of living, which in large part comes from the ridiculous taxes residents and businesses need to pay.
The liberal democrats will probably look at this as reason we need to spend MORE money to take care of the elderly (which will mean higher taxes, higher costs of living) and this insane cycle continues.
Can you name any isolated area that isn’t expensive to maintain a first world standard of living?
Alaska has been Republican for decades with low taxes and stuff there is expensive. Are we to blame the lack of investment from lack of taxes as to why things are expensive in Alaska?
Great website called Payscale.com. If you put in the city you live in now and where you are moving, it calculates the cost of living adjustment. Honolulu to Anchorage yields a 25% reduction in cost of living.
“Can you name any isolated area that isn’t expensive to maintain a first world standard of living?” No you can’t. But that doesn’t stop all the brainless SA whiners from coming out to post their drivel. The study heavily weights cost of living because Wallethub assumes retirees are poor and borderline homeless. You can’t have a low cost of living in a place as desirable and isolated as Hawaii.
choyd: Things are expensive in Alaska for the same reason they are expensive in Hawaii: The Jones Act!!!
That’s hardly the only reason. Even if we didn’t have the Jones act, geographically isolated areas will still be significantly more expensive to get goods and services too. The JA makes it worse, but the problem is still there independent of it.
Perhaps you might find this tid bit of passing interest, especially as it relates to cabotage:
“The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (P.L. 66-261), also known as the Jones Act, is a United States federal statute that provides for the promotion and maintenance of the American merchant marine.[1] Among other purposes, the law regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. Section 27 of the Jones Act, deals with cabotage (i.e., coastal shipping) and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents.[2] The Act was introduced by Senator Wesley Jones.”
Thos. Can’t imagine that even as far back as the 1920s, management didn’t play fair with the workers. Hence, the need for the Jones Act.
The irony is that you actually believe the carp put out by this obscure outfit based in DC that cranks out rankings on almost anything without ANY disclosure on the factual basis of their rankings. What seems likely is that this company is a propaganda arm of the right leaning political action groups.
Blue…And the Republicans will look at this to cut Main Street’s funding.
And we keep voting for the politicians who put us at the bottom?
Alaska keeps voting Republicans and it’s expensive there too.
Perhaps we should stop blaming local politicians and start looking at geographical issues that increase the cost of goods, services and shipping?
Proper focus is an excellent starting point …
Let’s start with the Jones Act.
Well yes, but it’s not just that. Even if we had foreign shippers, the sheer cost of moving material across the ocean over 2,000 miles is going to be expensive compared to heavy rail.
We aren’t going to get cheap milk like Oregon and Wisconsin have because we don’t have the demand to support local industry of that size. Alaska and Hawaii are small, geographically isolated states who must import most of their goods because they cannot support industries to be self sufficient. The Jones Act hurts, but it’s just one aspect of cost increases that first starts with the mere fact that we are stuck out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
I mean Alaska is small in terms of population, not in terms of physical size, although that also contributes to their high costs of goods as the density of the population is low making investments to actually meet the demands quickly aren’t there because it doesn’t make economic sense.
My pay would be lower if not for the Jones Act.
So why is sugar and pineapple expensive in Hawaii?
Maybe the sugar and pine apple has Maui wowie, pot, mixed in with it?
Re cboyd: the comment about shipping across the ocean versus heavy rail.
If the distances are about the same, I think that shipping by sea may be actually be a little less.
I did a little check on how much it costs to ship a car from Honolulu to California, versus California to the East Coast. It was about the same, but if you wanted covered shipping to the east coast, it is more than container shipping from Hawaii.
“Alaska keeps voting Republicans and it’s expensive there too.” And it’s about to get much more expensive with cheap oil. Their state budget is based on $70 oil. Good luck with that!
But they get a free oil check back.
Most of kamaainas are not at the bottom, only the poor fools like you.
Anyone who has less than a billion is poor.
If you believe WalletHub.com.
This State is runned by thieves that sucks the elderly and the generations to come….We know who… but like Saint George Carlin said” Nobody seems to notice…Nobody seemd to care…” Wait about 20 years…. We would all see what this so-called paradise is…. nothing but Rich and Shameless.
Yeah, who cares about the retired grandparents that worked hard to give us a better life? Hurry up and die so we can inherit all your riches and squander it away and live the good life. Jeezus, I can’t wait, hey grandma buy me that shiny BMW if I get good grades so I can show it off to my friends. Entitlement rules. It’s not just politicians and scam artists it’s our own families as well.
Break My Wallet car.
“Hawaii’s life expectancy rating tops the nation” except for those elderly people who like to walk about.
Living long also is draining the pension and health care system. And displacing the young who want to work.
And keeping the young from inheriting the saved fortunes and land they soooo deserve.
Save… No wonder why my kids keep on telling me to eat a dozen eggs every day.
Precisely why we won’t be retiring in Hawaii– we’ll take our hard earned dollars elsewhere and pay taxes in a state that doesn’t let criminals off with a handshake and a hug, one that has a government that is corrupt in several ways (kudos to the honest ones) and one that doesn’t have rampant petty theft left and right.
Mahalo,all
. Have a good flight.
Allu that is. Speedishuttle will take you to the airport.
Yes because the Oahu train to nowhere project will be USELESS for the purpose of carrying bags and getting to and from the Honolulu Airport.
Be like Obama by returning to Hawaii to say hello at least. Don’t forget your roots.
well, true
Allow me to hold the exit door open for you. We wouldn’t want it to hit you on your way out.
Hawaii may be a good place to retire, if you are very well off and have money to burn but everybody else would be wiser to go elsewhere, such as Utah, Wyoming, or parts of Oregon
and Nevada. In a few more years, there will only be the very rich and the working poor who live here.
You left out the homeless and charity cases. The numbers will continue to multiply. No doubt about it.
Given the rate at which DOE is stealing the intellectual birth right of the bright capable students who populate public school classrooms, we are already well on the way to becoming the Haiti of the Pacific.
If you actually think those places are better, please GO!
As much as Hawaii is still paradise, I would say that it can be a little tough for retirees to travel outside of the state due to distance, price and often more “mature” bodies that creak as we get older. I’m not just thinking about Las Vegas by the way.
Other than that, No Ka Oi!
That 5 hour flight to Vegas is killahs.
Try the ten hour direct from HNL to IAD.
I prefer the 20 minute flight to Maui. Why travel when you live in paradise? You don’t have to be well off to retire here. If you own your home, paid off mortgage and shop wisely it can be done. A large storeroom can do wonders if stocked at bargain prices.
I wouldn’t mind being on a ten hours flight on the Air Force One plane. My puppies could roam around, too.
All it takes a for one baby next to you, to be crying during the entire flight.
Cost of Living is the biggest factor.
Even billionaires have to budget.
Hawaii does not tax retirement pay. Hawaii also reimburses Medicare deductions. It would also seem that Hawaii’s climate, lifestyle and strong family ties are good for seniors.
That’s why Hawaii is messed up. Taxes revenues are too low.
I thought Hawaii was the best for a long life span?
Seniors who paid their dues to society want to thank Hawaii for nothing.
Paid? They are still pay-ing. God makes sure we all die, Government makes sure that anyone with money pays taxes.
Next week’s article will be on Hawaii is the best destination for the homeless.
I guess we all need to move to Florida. But why are all of the mainland people moving here?
Not unless you are well endowed? A state where lots of rich northerner move to for their retirements, plus cost of living normal as other states. So the climes are the attraction from the clod clime of the north. Humidity they cope with air conditioning. Transportation ease is another factor. Left the islands in 1944 when drafted bounced around and returned in 1946 left again ’47 returned 51 and left for good in ’52. Spent years in Indiana, Illinois, Texas and finally retired in California, now spanning over 25 years. Love the low humidity moderate temperatures here in Southern California about 91 miles from the Mexican border and loving every minute of it. Adequate Federal retirement benefits with safe investment portfolio have allowed us to travel to places like the Black Sea and others on 1 river and 20 sea cruises. Spent 5 monthly trips to Spain and even spent a night in Spanish Morocco.
Interesting personal history, cojef. Somehow many of your posting, as far as I’m concern, gives the impression you’re still presently living in Hawaii. Must be nice to travel with a well established retirement funds but there must be something here in our good old Hawaii that beckons you to keep even keel and happenings of your old home state. May I presume it’s the old aloha that aren’t found anywhere but here?
Cojef. Oh. The power of the marketing department with the glossy colorful brochures.
Live in a retirement community with about 14,000 unit and over 15,000 residents. Was fortunate while i worked for the Feds, spouse sold RE, enabling us to make a few purchases to enable a comfortable conservative investment portfolio mainly in State of California State bonds plus muni funds comprising over 60 % tax free income. Now since we do not travel is re-invested. With 2 other banks jumbo CD’s.
There are many factors to consider that will alleviate cost of living for Retirees in our unique State. Most of the Retirees are living in a multi family homes where the costs are minimize and care giving are shared. The number of family members in our Ohana are more than the average American household. Hence, the ability to take care their Kupuna. Multi-cultural amusements are plentiful, unique and live with their many artifacts at your finger tips as well as an updated history of each cultures. Hence, there is no need of more than one museum other than our own Bishop Museum. It is good enough for us Retirees! Somethings can’t be measure with money like the priceless asset of families, friends and our pleasant personalities not found in any other State of the Union! ie: standing in line at a supermarket, bank , theatre, etc. and conversing with the next person like a family member is common – where but Hawaii you have Aunties and Uncles from your next door neighbors, friend of your parents,etc… The cost of good living in Hawaii is in the intangibles – hanging loose! Shaka Bro!!
It is disappointing that so many are willing to give our politicians in this one party state a continues excuse for the insane taxes that are hoisted upon us. There have been studies up the kazoo that debunk the myth that geography is the main reason for our high cost of living. Part of the reason? Sure, but the main reason is the tax outlook and anti business climate that is Hawaii.
What do you expect when only four in ten even bother to vote?
Many do not vote because they are working 2 and even 3 jobs (maybe more) just to stay above water in Hawaii. Who has time to vote when you are worrying about getting from your first job that ends at 6pm and walking or taking the bus to your next job that starts at 7pm? Get home at around 11:30pm and sleep a few hours before heading out the next morning and repeating the cycle.
And such studies are…..?
Can you name a single isolated area where it is inexpensive to maintain a first world standard of living?
Alaska is expensive. And it’s isolated. And it’s Republican. With low taxes. They even get dividend checks for living there!
Oregon is cheap. Easily accessible. Democrat. With middle ranged taxes.
You seem hellbent on making this political when the obvious answer is geography.
Honolulu has one of the best bus systems in the nation, which is a big plus for a lot of elderly folks.
As far as museums, drop by my place if you want to see relics, but hurry because I don’t know how much longer I’ll be around.
primowarrior, thanks for the laughter and the positive input!
Honlulu does NOT have “one of the best bus systems in the nation”. Maybe long ago when they got some kind of award. Today, the bus system is average at best. The Bus built an expensive “transit center” in Mililani a few years ago which was supposed to function like a hub – today the same buses go through that “transit center” that went through a bus stop before the “transit center” was built. Total waste of money.
Third worst for retirement but longest life expectancy. So glad I can look forward to a long, miserable retirement.
giggle….good point
Guess that’s a good capper after your miserable work life.
primo1, this 1921 song is for some folks living here: Ev’ry morning, ev’ry evening
Ain’t we got fun?
Not much money, Oh, but honey
Ain’t we got fun?
The rent’s unpaid dear
We haven’t a bus
But smiles were made dear
For people like us
In the winter in the Summer
Don’t we have fun
Times are bum and getting bummer
Still we have fun
There’s nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get poorer.
In the meantime, in between time
Ain’t we got fun?
Landlords mad and getting madder
Ain’t we got fun?
Times are so bad and getting badder
Still we have fun
There’s nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get laid off
In the meantime, in between time
Ain’t we got fun?
Song says that despite all the fancy technology today, nothing has changed in the form of corruption, and nepotism in America.
Best to be miserable in Hawaii with two fluffy puppies who smile at you all day long.
Star Advertiser, please post this article today as well…Hawaii is number one!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/01/23/best-and-worst-states-grow-old/79087698/
It will get better for retirees because the rail will connect the Kroc Center to Ala Moana McDonalds.
Croc shoes, rock.
Hawaii will also rank the lowest among the other third world countries of the world.
Does “mikethenovice” own this blog? Please put a limit on the number of rantings an individual can make each day.