Retirement may sound like a leisure-filled fantasy to those still in the early stages of their career, but those daydreams often ignore the intricacies of preparing to leave the workforce. The amount of money a person needs to save in order to maintain their lifestyle – and provide for the financial strains that often come with aging – after retirement will vary. However, Fidelity suggests as a general benchmark that by the time someone is 40, they should have three-times their annual salary tucked away for retirement. That number climbs to six-times their pay at age 50, and ten-times their annual salary in savings by the time they're 67. With so much riding on savings, it's integral retirees take risk management and insurance coverage into account when making financial plans for their future. Without the proper insurance policies in place, retirees could find themselves depleting their nest egg if they experience an expensive loss. An essential part of risk management in your golden years is selecting where you will live. While some areas may seem like picturesque places to plant roots, many come with either hidden risks – like a tendency toward extreme weather – or a lack of resources. WalletHub recently determined the best cities to retire in the U.S. using criteria including:

• Affordability
• Taxpayer-friendliness
• Annual cost of in-home services
• Annual cost of adult day health care
• Available recreation, including senior centers, fishing facilities, golf courses, museums, theaters, art galleries, book clubs, music venues, bingo halls and volunteer activities
• Elder-friendliness of the labor market
• Share of population aged 65 and older living in poverty
• Walkability
• Weather
• Available health care
• Crime rates
• Strength of elder-abuse protections

In the slideshow above, we'll look at the cities WalletHub ranked as the best bets for folks looking to settle down in retirement.

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