Kentucky is worst state to retire in, new study says
Not only should you consider when to retire, but where to retire as well.
WalletHub compared the 50 states across dozens of key indicators to find out which states are the most retire-friendly. Kentucky ranked dead last.
Affordability, health expenses and quality of life were some of the categories.
In the 2020 study, Kentucky scored 41.89 points, the lowest of all 50 states. That's despite Kentucky not being the worst in any of the three categories.
For affordability, Kentucky ranked 32nd. The commonwealth ranked 46th for quality of life and 48th for health care.
Rounding out WalletHub's top five worst states to retire in for 2020 are New Mexico(49th), Rhode Island, New Jersey and West Virginia(46th).
Florida ranked as the best place to retire, followed by Colorado, New Hampshire, Utah and Wyoming.
WKYT went to the Lexington Senior Center to get their take on the new study and what can be done to make the commonwealth a more attractive place for retirees.
While this may be utopia if you're a senior citizen in Fayette County, other counties may face different challenges when it comes to serving seniors.
"In the other counties, they have a great gathering place, but transportation is probably one of the things that is most challenging and accessible, affordable housing everywhere," said Kristy Stambaugh, director of aging and disabilities for the city of Lexington.
Lack of affordable housing is one criteria examined when WalletHub issued the study.
The other areas the commonwealth scored low on were quality of life and health care.
"I say that we are in a senior citizen's college when we come here," said Judith Endicott.
She says the WalletHub study doesn't tell the whole story.
"That's not fair because Kentucky is divided into regions, about four I believe, and some of Kentucky is not good for retirees at all," Endicott said.
Some cities in the bluegrass, like Richmond, are making strides with new senior centers. But some feel like Lexington is already at the forefront.
