A new report aimed at helping our armed services plan for their retirement says that Texas is one of the best states of military retirees. Just in time for Military Appreciation month, personal finance website WalletHub decided to look at all 50 states along with the District of Columbia to see what states and regions would be better for a military veteran and their family to retire in.

Military retirement is affected by a number of various factors, including state tax policies on military benefits, the job market of the region the person is retiring in as well as various socioeconomic factors that could affect the military personnel. This year, there were changes to the military retirement system that will affect new recruits and current personnel who choose to opt in. Now, instead of the retirement program being a "defined benefit," the military has a blended retirement system that will give funds based on the years of service as well as matching contributions to a "Thrift Savings Plan."

WalletHub looked at 27 key metrics including:

  • State Tax on Military Pension
  • Tax-Friendliness
  • Share of Veteran-Owned Businesses
  • Dollars in Defense Department Contracts per Capita
  • Job Opportunities for Veterans
  • State Authorization for Veterans’ Preference in Private Hiring
  • Veteran Job Fairs per 100,000 Veterans
  • Job Growth
  • Military Bases & Installations per 100,000 Veterans
  • Total VA Expenditure per Number of Veterans
  • Presence of State Help for Returning Veterans
  • Presence of Academic Credit for Military Service
  • Housing Affordability
  • Cost-of-Living Index
  • Share of Veterans
  • Share of Veterans Not Receiving SNAP
  • Share of VA Benefits-Administration Facilities per Number of Veterans
  • Quality of University System
  • Arts, Leisure & Recreation Establishments per Capita
  • Share of Population Aged 40 & Older
  • Share of Homeless Veterans
  • Idealness of Weather
  • Number of VA Health Facilities per Number of Veterans
  • Federal, State, Local & Private Hospitals per Capita
  • Physicians per Capita
  • Quality of VA Hospitals
  • Presence of Veteran-Treatment Courts

According to the report, Texas came out in the top ten of the list, while New Mexico came out in the bottom 3. Texas came in as #5 on the list for most VA health facilities per number of veterans as well as the fact that Republican states ranked as more friendly towards military retirees.

Here's where Texas came out in the report:

Military Retirement in Texas (1=Best; 25=Avg.)

  • 5th Number of VA Health Facilities per Number of Veterans
  • 27th % of Homeless Veterans
  • 17th Housing Affordability
  • 27th % of Veteran-Owned Businesses
  • 13th Number of VA Benefits-Administration Facilities per Number of Veterans

To find out more from the study, please visit the WalletHub website.

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