The 7 Worst States for Private Retirement Income

The Census Bureau has come out with new retirement income survey data for 2018. One thing the survey has shown: Many retiree households are making do solely with Social Security benefits. They have no pension income, and no individual annuity income. (Related: Everyone Wants to Save Social Security, but How?) The percentage of each state's households collecting Social Security benefits ranges from 23%, in Alaska, up to 42%, in West Virginia. The percentage of households receiving some kind of private retirement income is only about half that. We came up with a rough measure of the private retirement income penetration gap, by dividing the percentage of each state's households with private retirement income by the percentage with Social Security income. The gap is narrow in states with many federal government retirees: In Alaska, for example, the number of households with private retirement income is 87% of the number with Social Security. But, in the typical state, the private retirement income penetration rate is only 59%. In seven states, the private retirement income ratio is below 54%. For a look at the seven states where people who help clients with retirement income planning have the most work to do, see the data cards in the slideshow above. — Read When Older American Households Fall Short, on ThinkAdvisor. — Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.