the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to analysis done by Garden State Initiative this year nearly $2.6 billion in pension payments, almost 25% of all payments, will be headed out of state, two and a half times the national rate.
GSI says ,”As of July 1, 2019, a total of 332,556 retirees were collecting pension payments from the state, with monthly payments totaling nearly $950 million, or over $11 billion annually.”
They concluded that while 251,278, or 75%, of payments went to New Jersey residents, the other quarter was headed out of state, another indicator of NJ’s unaffordability. Our analysis of July’s payments found that over 80,000 of New Jersey’s retired public employees have relocated out of state, collecting over $215 million in monthly pension payments. Annually that represents a transfer of $2.6 billion out of the Garden State’s economy.
The personal finance website Bankrate.com ranked New Jersey 48th when it comes to affordability for retirees. New Jersey’s tax laws present an all-or-nothing proposition for retirees. Retirement income under $100,000 is excluded from taxation, but report income of $100,000 or more and all of your retirement income is taxed at the normal rate. And we don’t need to tell you how New Jersey’s sky-high property taxes impact those on fixed incomes.
So where are those retirees heading? The top five destinations accounted for more than 55,000 pensioners collecting $153 million in July alone.
The top recipient was the Sun Belt state of Florida, where 25,000 checks, totaling over $70 million in July alone, were headed. Of course, Florida famously has no state income tax.
Next on the list was Pennsylvania, far from the Sun Belt, which received over 15,000 retiree deposits in July. Our neighbor to the west does not tax retirement income, including pensions.
While some may debate which climate, financial or weather, drives retirement decisions, it is clear that a significantly higher percentage of public employee pension payments leave our state. Annually, nearly $2.6 billion that could be spent in New Jersey growing our economy and generating tax revenue through the purchase of goods and services are now being utilized elsewhere.
So what, people move out of the state after they retire. They can’t afford to live in the state with highest taxes in the us.
Yawn, this is a non issue.
More like a house of cards for those who need to stay in nj homes Kids Jobs Elders
Last one kick over the Cats Bowl and Run southward
Taxes matter those 24 hour lots of time retirees support alot of businesses in towns like Ridgewood
Pensions sent out of state should be taxed here since it was “earned” (laugh) here.
Pensions, 401Ks, IRAs and any other type of retirement account sent out of state should be taxed in New Jersey since it was “earned” (yea right) here.
There I fixed that for ya, you can thank me later
If retirees don’t have family nearby, the most prudent thing they can do is move to places where merely living is much less expensive!