States With The Toughest And Loosest Tax Policies For Retirees

Florida, Texas, and Nevada are havens for older adults, and not just because of the weather, scenery, and entertainment options.

MarketWatch reports that those states are among those with no individual income tax, an important factor in deciding where to live after retirement. States across the nation have different policies when it comes to taxing Social Security benefits and pension income. New Mexico, for instance, taxes Social Security, income from pensions, and retirement accounts.

Then again, moving in retirement isn’t as common as it’s portrayed. Only 5.7 percent of people aged 55 to 59 moved from 2015 to 2016, and only a small fraction of them relocated to a different state.

For many people, living close to family and friends might be among the top determinants of where to live in retirement. For his part, Rocky Mengle, a senior state tax analyst with Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, says, “I would certainly look around at a lot of factors—weather, proximity to friends and family, accessibility to decent health care—and I would put taxes in there, particularly if someone has a fixed income,” he says.

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