FALL 2016 Retirement Guide
Having a permanent address helped the Huszars as they bounced among different military bases dur- ing the West Point graduate’s 23 years of active duty, which included Operation Desert Storm and, more recently, three tours in Iraq. But during visits to his in-laws’
house, Huszar saw more value in Florida than just an address: no state income tax, a simple pro- cess for absentee voting, an ideal climate, and appreciation for the military. So when the time came to retire from the military in July 2013, the decision was obvious. “As I started to research, it just became a no-brainer,” the 48-year- old president of VetCor, a water- damage restoration service, says. The south Tampa peninsula
O 68 MILITARY OFFICER SEPTEMBER 2016
emerged as the Huszars’ final pick because of the proximity to his wife’s parents, the highly ranked Plant High School for his children, a major airport for his wife’s work travel, and the comfort of knowing they wouldn’t have to move again.
Only California and Texas can claim more veteran residents.
“We were able to put all our cri- teria together, and we found every- thing,” says Huszar.
Tax advantages With this move, Huszar became one of the roughly 1.6 million veterans
who make Florida their home. Only California and Texas can claim more veteran residents. Roughly half of those 1.6 million
veterans — just under 800,000 as of 2014 — were of retirement age (65) or older, according to the VA. This is almost as many as California’s 881,000 and exceeds Texas’ 663,000. Like Huszar, many of these vet-
erans are choosing Florida for the obvious tangible factors like climate and the absence of state income tax. But other factors come into play: no tax on military pensions, no inheri- tance tax, homestead exemptions, other veteran discounts, and sub- tropical flora and fauna. The state uses these aspects to try
to lure more veterans — both those who are fully retired and those who still are working — through its Vet- erans Florida organization, which launched in 2014 and has an annual budget of about $2.84 million for staff, job training for veterans, mar- keting, and other expenses. “I think the top thing that draws military retirees to Florida is there’s no tax on their retirement pension or income — no state income tax on anybody,” says Bobby Carbonell, ex- ecutive director of Veterans Florida. “Beyond that,” Carbonell con- tinues, “I think No. 2 is probably
PHOTO:SHUTTERSTOCK
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