New Jersey
You stayed in New Jersey your whole life — and now retirement may force you out
A few weeks ago I wrote about staying in New Jersey feeling like a bad relationship. The love is real. The memories are real. But the bills keep coming and the promises from Trenton keep not arriving. And most people keep saying just one more year.
Here is the part of that story I did not get to. For a lot of New Jersey residents, the “just one more year” conversation does not end with a decision to leave. It ends with retirement — and the sudden realization that the math that was already hard just got impossible.
The friends who are no longer here
I think about this a lot because I see it in my own life. Friends and relatives I grew up with — people who are approaching retirement or are already there — are gone. Not gone as in passed away. Gone as in New Jersey made them leave. Financially bullied out of the state they built their lives in.
Off the top of my head I can place friends and family in western Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arizona, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Hawaii — and of course Florida, always Florida. A few landed in Delaware, close enough to drive back for a long weekend. Most are not that lucky. When you move to Scottsdale or Nashville or Maui, Sunday dinner with the grandkids is no longer twelve minutes down the road. It is a flight.
Thank goodness for social media. It is the only reason we stay connected.
These were not people who wanted to leave. They coached Little League. They served on school boards and rescue squads. They wore badges and volunteered at firehouses. Stand-up citizens who would have gone on contributing to their communities for another twenty years. New Jersey pushed them out anyway.
SEE ALSO: Staying in NJ is starting to feel like a bad relationship
Photo by Zac Gudakov on Unsplash
When paying off your house becomes a rude awakening
For many of them the realization came at the worst possible moment — the moment they should have been celebrating. Paying off your house is supposed to be the reward of a well-lived life. Decades of mortgage payments finally done. You own it. Free and clear.
Except in New Jersey, that moment of triumph comes with a brutal clarity. The property tax bill that was quietly folded into your monthly mortgage payment is now sitting on your kitchen table all by itself. No mortgage to soften the blow. Just a number. A big one.
The average New Jersey property tax bill tops $9,800 a year statewide. In Bergen, Morris and Essex counties it pushes well past $12,000. That is the bill you get for owning something you already paid for. Pay it or face consequences. It is not quite Tony Soprano showing up at your door — but the message is not entirely different. Pay up, or we make things very difficult for you.
Social Security was not designed to absorb that number. Most pension checks were not either. (For those who worked hard and were fortunate to receive them.) For many residents who paid into their 401k…it sadly just does not cut it here.
The Stay NJ promise that isn’t
What makes it sting even more is that relief was supposed to be coming. Governor Sherrill’s proposed budget cuts the Stay NJ property tax relief program — $500 million gone. That program was supposed to cut property tax bills nearly in half for eligible homeowners over 65. People built their retirement plans around it. Stayed in their houses because of it.
Now it may not happen. And for retirees sitting on a house worth four times what they paid for it, the calculation is shifting fast. Cash out. Head south. Let someone else argue with the tax assessor.
What Trenton owes this generation
The people facing this decision did not fail New Jersey. They showed up for decades. They raised families here, served their communities, paid their taxes, and stayed through every rate hike, toll increase and broken promise of reform.
They deserve better than a retirement that forces them to choose between financial survival and the only home they have ever known.
New Jersey is still worth loving. The Shore, the food, the neighborhoods, the culture — none of that has changed. What has changed is the price the state charges for the privilege of staying.
For a generation that gave everything they had, that price has finally gotten too high.
LOOK: Here’s where people in every state are moving to most
Gallery Credit: Amanda Silvestri
Trump signs TrumpIRA order to broaden access to retirement savings
Trump signs executive order creating TrumpIRA.gov, which workers whose employers don’t offer 401(k) plans can use to enroll in a retirement plan.
New survey data released May 13 suggests affordability pressures are increasingly shaping whether older New Jersey residents stay or leave the state.
More than one-third of residents age 45 and older – 35% – said they have considered leaving New Jersey in the past year, according to a new AARP New Jersey “Vital Voices” survey. Among those weighing a move, 67% said the high cost of living is a primary reason.
The findings come as state lawmakers continue discussions centered on property taxes, utility costs and policies aimed at helping residents age in place.
“New Jersey should be a place where people can afford to grow older, not a place they feel forced to leave,” Chris Widelo, state director of AARP New Jersey, said in a statement. “Right now, rising costs are pushing people out.”
NJ property taxes, utilities driving concern
Affordability pressures extend across multiple key household costs.
Property taxes remain a central concern, with 53% of respondents citing them as a factor in considering leaving the state. The survey also found strong support for the Stay NJ program, which provides eligible homeowners with up to $6,500 in annual property tax relief.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) said they support keeping the program intact, including maintaining the full benefit.
Rising utility costs are also a growing concern. About 89% of respondents said they are worried about increasing electricity bills, including a majority who said they are “very concerned.”
Support for caregiving relief, transparency
The survey highlights financial and logistical pressures facing caregivers, as more residents provide unpaid care for aging relatives.
More than half – 54% – of adults age 45 and older said they have served as unpaid caregivers. A majority said caregiving costs are a financial concern, and 86% expressed support for a caregiver tax credit.
Respondents also backed greater oversight of long-term care facilities. Strong majorities said they support requirements for nursing homes to disclose ownership, staffing levels and financial arrangements, along with greater transparency in how Medicaid funding is spent.
What it means for NJ budget talks
The findings underscore a broader policy debate in Trenton over how to address affordability challenges while maintaining services.
AARP New Jersey is urging state leaders to prioritize policies that reduce financial strain on older adults, including property tax relief, utility affordability and support for caregivers.
“This survey sends a clear message,” Widelo said. “If New Jersey wants to remain a place where people can age with dignity, we must focus on making it more affordable to stay.”
This story was created by reporter Joe Martino, jmartino@usatodayco.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.
New Jersey
24-year-old elected mayor of NJ town as incumbent faced backlash in wake of massive warehouse fire
BELLEVILLE, New Jersey (WABC) — Frank Vélez, a 24-year-old town councilman, was elected as the new mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
Vélez may be young, but he has years of experience after he became involved in politics at 19 because his sister has special needs.
He has served on the school board in Belleville and the town council, and he was on the staff of former congressman Bill Pascrell.
Vélez said his win is a testament to hard work.
“We ran on getting back to the basics, the quality of life. Talking about responsible development and just talking about getting back to the priorities of working people,” Vélez said.
Incumbent Michael Melham faced backlash for his handling of a massive warehouse fire that shut down schools for more than a week.
There has been growing pessimism in town, highlighted by the massive 14-alarm warehouse fire this month that caused residents to evacuate and schools to shut down for days.
Parents and educators wrote a joint letter critical of Melham and school leadership for failing to communicate with parents during the emergency.
“In the hours and days following the fire, our community was left navigating uncertainty with little or no official instruction, resorting to group chats and scavenging social media for guidance or information, both of which should have been provided by the government that we entrust for such tasks,” the letter read in part.
Vélez said he’s ready to get to work.
“I feel grateful. I am humbled, and I’m just- just so ready to get to work as the next mayor of Belleville. And I’m so grateful to everyone for support. This was a resounding victory,” Vélez said.
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Round-trip bus fares for fans attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been cut by 75% as officials scrambled to secure backup transportation between the Big Apple and New Jersey, a new report said.
The New York/New Jersey host committee slashed fares from $80 to $20 for ticket holders traveling from three Manhattan locations to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ — and boosted capacity from 10,000 to 18,000 seats by adding yellow school buses for the eight World Cup games, The Athletic reported.
Buses will shuttle up to 18,000 people on non-school matchdays, and about 12,000 on school-day games between June 13 and July 19.
The steep price cut comes after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pumped $6 million into hacking down fares – with the investment setting aside about 20% of bus tickets for state residents who have purchased match tickets, the outlet reported.
Sources familiar with ticket sales told the Athletic that about 25% to 30% of tri-state area residents have already scooped up admissions for games at MetLife Stadium.
Alongside the major investment, Highland Fleets, which manages electric school bus fleets, worked with the New York City School Bus Umbrella Services – after contacting Hochul, the committee, and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani – to secure additional buses, with about 300 hitting the road on peak matchdays.
The transit rides will leave from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a Midtown east location east of Grand Central Terminal, and a Midtown North location west of Central Park, the outlet reported.
Highland Fleets chief operating officer Ben Schutzman said the goal was to create “affordable and accessible” bus services during the World Cup, while a Mamdani spokesperson praised the mayor’s support for discounted rides for ticketholders.
“Mayor Mamdani supports any effort that makes transportation more affordable for New Yorkers – including reduced-cost buses for World Cup ticketholders,” the mayor’s rep told the outlet.
“We look forward to rolling out additional free and affordable events to ensure that all New Yorkers can enjoy the World Cup.”
The price-slashing effort comes days after New Jersey Transit trimmed its widely slammed World Cup fare hike by 30% after securing funding from “sponsors and other sources.”
The new price will be set at $105 for a round-trip ticket from Manhattan to MetLife after fares were bumped more than 1,000% from the standard $12.90 ticket to a whopping $150.
The eight games being played at the Garden State stadium are set for June 13, June 16, June 22, June 25, June 27, June 30, July 5, and July 19.
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