Louisiana named among 10 worst states for retirees

A relatively high crime rate, low average life expectancy and high percentage of retirees living below the poverty threshold have caused Louisiana to land on a list of the 10 worst states in which a person could choose to spend their golden years. Bankrate.com, a Web-based aggregator of financial rate information, has compiled the list, which you can check out in its entirety here. The rate of property and violent crimes per 100,000 people in Louisiana is 4,197, according to the list, while average life expectancy is 75.4 years and 11.5% of retirees live below the poverty line. Judging by those numbers alone, perhaps Louisiana does look like a dangerous and harsh place to spend your retirement. But everyone knows numbers don’t tell the whole story, and Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne has begun a push to tell retirees the rest of the story. Last week, while in Texas, Dardenne began promoting the state’s new “Retire Louisiana Style” campaign, which was launched this month. Depending on which metrics are used, Louisiana often finds itself on lists of both the best and worst states in which to retire. For example, the state was also this month ranked No. 8 on a list of the 10 most tax-friendly states for retirees by Kiplinger. “For retirees, every day is like Mardi Gras in Louisiana,” the list says.