[ThrustVectoring]

Eh, futzing with your asset allocation is significantly less important than budgeting well, managing your lifestyle/expenses, and making your career work out well. You can retire without beating inflation, let alone stock market indexes.

[sp332]

Retire without beating inflation? Does this involve saving 30% of your paycheck for 40 years?

[ThrustVectoring]

It can. Depends on how much you make and spend. You can retire with zero savings if you can control costs to beneath what social security pays you, but it'll be really rough.