I'm not an actuary, but as far as I'm aware the average age of 71 is "at birth". It would be more relevant to check the life expectancy of a 28 year old (I'll bet it's a lot better than 71).


Thanks for the numbers. I really don't know what the current life expectancy is, but I'm fairly certain that I won't live as long. :)


I think the recommended safe withdrawal rate is under 4% of your assets - that should guarantee you a good 40+ years of income. So, if you need $25K per year, you should have at least $625,000. invested - which I'd guess would mean you need to get about $150K in the bank by the time you're 35 if you want to retire at 55 (assuming you'll save no more beyond 35...).


That should be (almost) trivial for me, assuming I don't allow myself to overspend while I'm working on contract, and I haven't, so far. With luck, I'll have much more than that.

Thanks again, for your help.

<jbrains>