Good Lord. That's more than I'm drawing annually from my portfolio in retirement. I guess you could say I'm living comfortably on the money I'm not paying to an insurance company or "leverage planner" in fees, expenses and costs.

Right on! If you've got enough that you can support your lfiestyle on less than 150 bips of your basis per year, regardless of drawdown volatility & taxation, there's no reason to pay for such protection. I'd be the 1st to advise to just hang it all out naked & enjoy the ride!

Cheers,
Dave