With May being Military Appreciation Month and significant military pension changes having taken effect last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees.
“Military retirement can be a far more complicated issue than one might assume, given the extent to which state tax policies on military benefits vary, the relative friendliness of different job markets toward veterans and other socioeconomic factors,” the site notes. “In 2018, the military’s retirement system also changed for new recruits and current personnel who opted in, going from a defined benefit to a ‘Blended Retirement System’ that awards funds not just based on years served but also matches contributions to a Thrift Savings Plan.”
The data set it compiled for a comparison between the states ranges from job opportunities for veterans to housing affordability to quality of VA hospitals.
It also included some facts about Memorial Day to kick off the observance.
Best States for Military Retirees
1 Virginia
2 Florida
3 Maine
4 New Hampshire
5 Massachusetts
6 Alaska
7 Minnesota
8 South Dakota
9 Idaho
10 South Carolina
Worst States for Military Retirees
42 New Jersey
43 Utah
44 Indiana
45 Nevada
46 New Mexico
47 Mississippi
48 New York
49 Vermont
50 Oregon
Sadly, taking a position of (dis)honor at the No. 51 spot is the District of Columbia.
Memorial Day 2019 Facts
96 – Number of members in the 116th Congress who have served in the U.S. military.
25 – Number of American cities that have claimed to be the birthplace of Memorial Day.
818 – Number of hot dogs consumed every second from Memorial Day to Labor Day (seven billion total).
20 to 80 Percent Off – Discounts shoppers can expect during Memorial Day weekend sales.
$139+ Million – Estimated value of items that will be lost this Memorial Day weekend.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
