Warm weather, sunny beaches, and no state Social Security or income tax. These are just some of the reasons, according to a study by The Motley Fool, Florida ranked as the best U.S. state to retire in.

But retirement isn't as simple as packing up your things and heading to the beach. Proper planning typically takes years, if not decades, to make it come to fruition. Part of every plan is knowing exactly where to set your financial goals to achieve a comfortable retirement.

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Starting a retirement plan is often the hardest part of the process. Fortunately, there are some rough guidelines you can follow. For instance, one common rule is that someone can expect to need 80% of pre-retirement income to maintain a similar lifestyle after leaving the workforce.

In other words, if you make $100,000 annually, you would aim for $80,000 in annual income, whether that comes from Social Security, investment accounts, or other sources. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Florida is about $75,000. So, if you want to maintain a typical lifestyle in Florida, it'll cost about $60,000 per year in retirement.

Now, let's factor in Social Security. The average monthly retirement benefit as of January 2026 was just over $2,000, or $24,000 per year. For a one-person household, that would reduce the annual income needed from savings or investments to $36,000.

Working the 4% rule backwards, someone would need about $900,000 in a nest egg to draw that much money annually.

Unfortunately, most people fall well short of a comfortable retirement. Data from Nerd Wallet pegs the typical household's savings at just $200,000 at age 65.

Why? People often lose sight of just how powerful compounding is. It's easy to brush off retirement planning until later in life, but that's robbing yourself of your most lucrative saving years, as the money invested the earliest grows the fastest later on. The takeaway? Start saving and investing if you haven't already.

It's also worth considering how a change in geography can flip the math in your retirement plans in your favor. Someone earning a higher salary in a major city is paying higher living expenses and taxes, but can then move to another state or a rural area, where the income required for a comfortable lifestyle is far lower.

Don't hesitate to consult a professional to put a plan together that works for you. But given the fantastic climate and numbers above, it's easy to see why the State of Florida is such a popular retirement destination.

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What Does a Comfortable Retirement Actually Cost in Florida in 2026? was originally published by The Motley Fool