These states are simply saying, “Old farts are not welcome here.” 
These states are more likely going broke rather than “greedy”.
I read somewhere that if taxes are your top consideration for where to retire, you likely have plenty of money.
A lot of states on that list are just taxing above a certain income threshold, something the federal government does as well. One really needs to look at the whole tax picture - income, property, excise, estate, sales taxes, etc. - to understand the tax burden of living in a certain state.
The first two states at least had a significant surplus last year. No going broke.
Like dos said, the taxes mostly start on higher incomes.
My generation is paying for the services that the retiring generations have spent our lives gutting for everyone after them. You’ll excuse me if I don’t feel a whole lot of sympathy.
States are treating it like income, which it is.
Old article…or not accurate info. Retired CT teachers don’t pay state income tax on 25% of their pension. This was slated to increase to 50% this year… but that was moved to 2018 tax year instead.
My SS is only $173 a month. I’m not going to get tied up on knots about states collecting income tax on my SS benefit of $173 a month…when $170 goes to pay my Medicare costs and associated IRMA.
CT is having significant financial issues. S2 who hasn’t lived here since he graduated college in 2012 got a letter 2 weeks ago from the state dept of revenue services telling him that he might be audited for not filing taxes in CT in 2015 and that he could avoid the audit if he paid up now (not exact wording). I figure the state is just desperate for revenue and turning over every rock looking for money. He called them, told them he lives and works in DC, paid taxes there. They told him they’d indicate that & not to worry. I’ll be curious to see what happens.
@shellfell that’s disgusting about the letter to your son, who is NOT a resident of this state and doesn’t work here.
Did they mail the letter to a CT address??
It was mailed to our address in CT, which was his before 2012.
^Sounds like the state was on a fishing expedition for tax evaders. Take a list of working age people who paid state taxes in recent years, then stopped. Send them a sternly worded letter at the last known address. If it comes back “addressee unknown,” they’re probably no longer there. If it doesn’t come back, they might still be there, in which case the tax authorities might make further inquiries as to whether they’re just not earning income, or whether they just stopped paying taxes for no legitimate reason. In some cases, like your S, there’s a perfectly valid reason they’re not paying taxes, so end of inquiry.
I wouldn’t worry about it. They can’t prosecute unless they can prove tax evasion, which they can’t. States and even the IRS lose enormous sums to tax cheats, and the rest of us end up paying higher taxes as a consequence. I don’t mind vigorous enforcement efforts because I believe it’s ultimately to my advantage as an honest taxpayer.
Taxes are my secondary consideration for a retirement home. NEVER seeing snow ever again is my primary consideration. However, I would consider setting up a primary residence in a cheap state with snow and wintering elsewhere so as to preserve my money as long as I can.
Frankly, none of the 13 states on the list appeal to me, other than perhaps Tennessee.
@shellfell – tell your S2 to retain his utility bills and any other verifiable documents from his time in CT and DC. He may not need them … but if the taxman from CT comes calling again he will demand official documentation. Believe me, when I moved from WA to GA the taxman in GA put me through the wringer to verify my location for income tax purposes! I had cashed NQSO (taxable income on the proceeds) in WA while living and working there for the first half of the year (no state income tax) and moved to GA afterwards (which has a state income tax). Proving where I lived, to the GA DOR’s satisfaction, was ridiculous. Fortunately, DW was a bookkeeper and kept most of our financial records. I called PG&E for seven years of copies of our utility bills … not enough. Copies of rental payments for our townhouse. Copies of paychecks. Copies of one-way airline tickets from SEA to ATL. Copies of our cars being trucked to GA. The final bill I sent was of our freaking cat having a check up at our vet in Redmond, WA, which was required by Delta airlines for a one-way flight to GA!
I never knew how difficult it was to “prove” where you lived to an aggressive entity out to grab as much money as they could.
Colorado ranks #1 in that ranking – but compared to many states, the costs of living here are lower. For example, property taxes are very low here. I live in central Denver, in a very walkable, very desirable historic neighborhood with mature trees, lots of restaurants, coffee shops & breweries. Our property taxes are under $3500 a year.
With graying of the population, this is something state governments will have to do in order to survive. This or increasing sales taxes which is regressive.
@katliamom said:
WOW!!!
I live in a high property tax state. No state income tax, but they really get you on property tax.
Here’s a handy look at tax burden by state. One’s own tax burden will vary depending on income/spending/housing needs and patterns.
https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494/
One nice thing about HI is it doesn’t tax pensions, which many SRs receive, effectively reducing their tax burden. Our state income taxes went down a lot after H retired and we were living on a pension.
The use of the word “greedy” is (and is meant to be) inflammatory. There are always many more variables than any accounting of costs or quality of life than any tally, ranking… can handle for every person. Some of the highest ranked states for retirees are the worst for raising a family since they do a poor job with the public schools. Yet we need people working to make retired life feasible. I did not read the fine print explaining how much money is taken but when a person is rich taking money from SS payments does not determine where to live- quality of life does. Part of quality of life depends on location of family and friends (assume already in a place where one wants to be for various other factors).
Money is NOT the main factor in anyone’s life no matter how many business articles seem to think it is. Nor is it the main factor in quality of life.
"Twoinanddone: States are treating it like income, which it is. "
It was treated as income the first time around, when the retiree earned it.