{"id":149928,"date":"2026-01-26T12:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T12:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/149928\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T12:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T12:54:11","slug":"california-ranks-among-worst-states-to-retire-heres-why-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/149928\/","title":{"rendered":"California ranks among worst states to retire. Here’s why"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maureen Spranza marked her retirement with a party in August 2024. By December of 2025, the 60-year-old was back at work, \u00a0\u201cun-retiring\u201d as rising costs made retirement unaffordable. She now holds three jobs.<\/p>\n

Moving from celebration to working six days a week was difficult and disappointing, she said, and meant putting personal projects and creative pursuits on hold \u2014 like writing a book.<\/p>\n

It was a tough but necessary call \u2014 and one that reflects a growing reality for retirees across the Bay Area and California. A recent study ranked California as the sixth-worst state to retire, trailing Mississippi, Alabama, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey. California\u2019s high cost of living drove the state\u2019s poor showing, said Arthur Bretschneider, the CEO of CareScout, the company that did the study and which provides long-term care insurance and planning. As the share of the state\u2019s population nearing retirement continues to rise, he says the findings underscore a growing problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s getting harder and harder to age here,\u201d Bretschneider said.<\/p>\n

Already, about 22% of Bay Area retirees reported struggling to pay bills, according to a 2025 poll<\/a> by the Bay Area News Group and the think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s high cost of living is no surprise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, most goods and services cost more in the state than elsewhere. And, of particular concern for retirement planning, assisted living in California is among the most expensive in the nation, according to CareScout. The study also considered expenses such as groceries, housing, utilities and other services.<\/p>\n

Many financial experts emphasized the role planning can play in shaping retirement outcomes. Kalvin Sid, owner and principal planner at Sid Financial Services in San Mateo, said he has seen many of his clients move to lower-cost states such as Texas, Florida and Nevada to retire. He said retirement in California can be more sustainable when people start planning earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy average client is 55, but retirement planning should start as soon as you get your first job,\u201d he said. \u201cI have clients in their 20s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AIt\u2019s a common misconception that Social Security alone will comfortably support retirement, Sid said. Social Security was designed to be one of three \u201clegs\u201d of retirement income, he said, alongside pensions and personal savings. But with pensions largely phased out and the average monthly Social Security benefit just over $2,000, saving has become more critical than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government cannot afford to care for us all,\u201d Sid said. \u201cWe need to get in the habit of caring for our future selves.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some Californians, like Spranza, the financial pressure has become so intense that retirement isn\u2019t sticking. Spranza, who took early disability retirement for migraines and returned to the workforce a year later, is living that reality. By the end of last year, her three jobs had her working as a music teacher at two schools, a community engagement coordinator for a music nonprofit and teaching at the San Ramon Academy of Music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not surprised by California\u2019s ranking. Everything is so expensive,\u201d Spranza said.<\/p>\n

While several factors influenced her decision to step out of retirement, Spranza said the biggest was the sharp increase in her Covered California health insurance premium. Her monthly cost jumped from $21 to $1,100 after President Donald Trump signed the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d Act in July 2025, legislation that\u00a0allowed enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to expire.<\/p>\n

Spranza also said she realized she could not afford decades of student loan payments on a fixed income and support a daughter who is studying to become a veterinarian.<\/p>\n

While she hopes to continue working for only the next two to three years, Spranza said she\u2019s grateful for what it has afforded her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to get a new roof last week, and that was $20,000, plus a plumbing problem I discovered,\u201d Spranza said. \u201cThose are pretty big price tag items if you\u2019re retired and on a fixed income.<\/p>\n

Despite the financial strain, the picture is not all bleak. The survey also ranked states on quality-of-life factors such as access to parks and recreational centers and cultural opportunities for seniors \u2014 a category in which California ranked fourth in the nation.<\/p>\n

Bretschneider, a San Francisco resident, said he understands why many people still choose to live in the state despite the high costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been here my whole life, so I\u2019m a fan; it\u2019s an amazing place to live,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Spranza considered moving to Mexico, the Caribbean and even back to New Jersey, where she is originally from. But as she looks ahead to retirement once again, she said California still feels like home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been here for 35 years,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t plan on leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maureen Spranza marked her retirement with a party in August 2024. By December of 2025, the 60-year-old was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[381,389,184,53758,387,7,9,8,400,390,392,332,393,383,1011,181,971,23,100,395,13,388,8523,396,198,386,200,420,398,399],"class_list":["post-149928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-aging","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-bay-area-and-california-exodus","tag-business","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-california-politics","tag-central-contra-costa","tag-contra-costa-county","tag-east-bay","tag-east-contra-costa","tag-economy","tag-housing","tag-latest-headlines","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-peninsula","tag-politics","tag-real-estate","tag-retirement","tag-san-francisco-county","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-seniors","tag-south-bay","tag-things-to-do","tag-tri-valley","tag-west-contra-costa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}