$1M retirement savings won't last long in California: study

OAKLAND, Calif. - A new statewide study found a million dollars in retirement savings won't last very long in California. 

Researchers at GoBankingRates, a personal finance site, found that the average Californian would run out of $1 million in retirement savings in 12 years, eight months and five days, spending about $80,000 a year on items such as housing and healthcare. 

West Virginia was the best state in the nation for stretching retirement savings, the site’s study found.

According to GoBanking, it would take a West Virginian 20 years, three months and 19 days to spend $1 million, with total annual spending at $49,000. 

Hawaii is the most expensive place to spend your retirement, GoBankingRates said.

To find how long $1 million would last across the country, GoBankingRates looked at the national average annual expenditures for people 65 and older, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey data.

Researchers then multiplied the national figure by the overall cost of living index score for all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the third quarter of 2023 from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.

Finally, GoBankingRates divided $1 million by each state’s average annual expenditures estimate.

The site provided supplemental information on the average annual cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation,and healthcare for people 65 and older by using MERIC’s cost of living indices for each category.

Here’s how $1 million in retirement savings breaks down in the Golden State:

Annual groceries cost: $5,387
Annual housing cost: $22,530
Annual utilities cost: $5,202
Annual transportation cost: $6,283
Annual healthcare cost: $8,226
Total annual expenditures: $78,864

Source: GoBanking Rates