Florida like every state faces challenges to the financial security of future retirees. The state’s 3 out of 10 score on the Financial Security Scorecard means that the next generation has a much lower potential for financial security in retirement than counterparts in many other states. The scorecard considers: future income, key retiree costs, and labor markets for older workers.
With its low ranking, Florida has an important role to play fashioning financial security as workers age. Its retiree income, cost and labor market scores were all below average; workers need help to maintain their standard of living with an adequate income stream over their retirement years. Only 34% of Florida workers participate in a retirement plan at work. Those who have saved for retirement in defined contribution (DC) account have an average balance of $23,859; this means that workers have saved far less than even half of the $61,196 average annual earnings of working Floridians in 2012. Financial industry experts recommend that workers by their 40s should have 2-3 times salary in retirement savings set aside. Increasing retirement plan coverage and savings for retirement is important otherwise the percentage of older Floridians living in poverty in the future may exceed the 2012 level of 10.2 percent.