Photo of Ray Ferrara CFP Ray Ferrara CFP Jul 16, 2020

Women retiring on their own face more challenges than men. Women tend to live longer, so they need their retirement funds to last longer. They tend to earn less money in their lifetimes, which means they have less to save. Because of hurdles like these, retired, single women need to find every advantage possible to make their retirement funds last as long as possible.

You can help stretch out your retirement funds, grow your investments and supplement your retirement income by following a short-term and long-term financial plan. However, money is only one factor to consider. When you retire, you want to be somewhere that you can enjoy yourself, be around other retired people, and have affordable health care, low taxes and high life expectancy. Take a look below at a list of five places retired, single females should keep at the top of their list:

Five best places to live for single, retired females

  1. Hawaii — Hawaii is first on the list because, while it is not exactly the cheapest place to live, it offers other advantages for retired, single females. Hawaii has an elderly population of 16.1%. Its average monthly health care premium is $411 dollars. Its average state and local taxes on a single household are 10.33%, and the average life expectancy of women there is 84.7 years.
  2. New Hampshire — Tropical climate not for you? Head north to New Hampshire where it is cooler and dryer but still an excellent place for single, retired women to live. The elderly population in New Hampshire is 15.8%. The average monthly health care premium is $542 dollars. The average state and local tax rates are 10.9%, and women live 82.5 years on average.
  3. Tennessee — Want to be somewhere with more of a thriving scene? Tennessee has beautiful nature, fun theme parks and a ton of entertainment in Nashville and Pigeon Forge. The elderly population here is 16.1%. The average monthly health care premium is $435 dollars. The average state and local tax rates are 7.97%. Women live 79 years on average.
  4. Oregon — More of a west coast person? Try Oregon. There are beautiful state parks, and there is a lot to enjoy during an outing to the city of Portland. The elderly population in Oregon is 16%. The average monthly health care premium is $465 dollars. The average state and local tax rate is 9.22%. Women live for 81.8 years on average.
  5. Arizona — Want to be somewhere warm, dry and with plenty of beautiful nature? Arizona could be a great place to retire. The elderly population is 15.9%. The average monthly health care premium is $453 dollars. The average state and local tax rates are 9.60%. The average life expectancy for women is 82.1 years.

Discover some more places that are great for retired females from CNBC.

Talk to a ProVise CFP® professional about planning for retirement as a single woman

Regardless of where you choose to retire, you need to have a financial strategy for helping you save to get there and to have enough to live off of each year of your retirement. Planning all of this out on your own is like trying to bake a cake without a recipe. You might have some idea of what goes in it, but without clear directions, you can put too much or too little of certain ingredients in, resulting in a disappointing outcome. When it comes to your financial planning, you need to have all of the right ingredients in place to help you reach your retirement goals.

At ProVise Management Group, our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals can act as your recipe for your retirement cake. Our female professional team members are familiar with the unique challenges facing women every day when it comes to their finances. We are proud to offer financial services that specifically cater to the needs of independent women who want to reach their financial goals. We can get to know you, your goals, your values and your risk tolerance to come up with a plan that helps you reach your retirement goals.

We also create a written plan for you at a fiduciary standard of care. All of our written plans come with an unconditional money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with your written plan, you can return it to us, and we will refund 100% of the fee paid.

Are you ready to talk to a professional about retiring as a single woman? Contact ProVise today to schedule a complimentary consultation.