Poll: More Than Half of N.J. Residents Say They'll Retire Out of State

An unaffordable cost of living and high taxes are the reason more than half of New Jersey's working adults polled recently by Fairleigh Dickinson University say they will retire outside the Garden State.

A total of 52 percent of those polled said they will move out of state upon retiring, while just 32 percent intend to remain in New Jersey, according to the university. For those who plan on leaving, a strong majority – 57 percent – cited the cost of living and the state's tax burden as being behind their decision to flee.

“People are living longer and need their retirement savings to last beyond what previous generations expected," said Krista Jenkins, director of the PublicMind Polling Institute and professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson. "Future retirees are obviously looking for places where they can stretch their dollars, and New Jersey isn’t looking too affordable these days."

The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of 699 New Jersey non-retiree adults was conducted by telephone with both landlines and cell phones from May 27 through June 1. Across the board, affordability and taxes were the most common reasons provided for wanting to leave the state, university officials said.

Those 40 and older, and white non-retirees, were the most likely groups to cite affordability and taxes as their main reason for leaving the Garden State. Non-whites and those with no more than a high school diploma were, overall, less likely than most to express concern with affordability in retirement, but poll findings offered "indisputable evidence" of the concerns residents have about the state’s income tax, particularly for retirees, the university said in a statement.

The second-highest reason given for wanting to leave the state – by 15 percent of respondents – was the desire for a different or warmer climate.

Of those wanting to leave, 40 percent said they'll look to a southern state. About 14 percent said they would remain somewhere in the northeast and 13 percent said they will likely move abroad. A fifth of those wanting to leave are undecided about their future destination.

There was already some political fallout from the poll, the results of which were released Monday morning.

State Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union, Morris, Somerset) said his fellow legislators must address the interest arbitration law which expired on March 31 and pass reforms on public employee retirement payouts.

The interest arbitration law capped raises arbitrators could award to public employee unions at 2 percent.

Bramnick's call for retirement payout reform comes on the heels of an NJ.com report over the weekend that Lodi Police Chief Vincent Caruso will receive a $342,000 payout for unused sick and vacation time when he retires, which has forced the municipal government to borrow the money.