[JohnFen]

> But does the “enough money to live” include money to cover your future living expenses as well?

I've covered that through savings over the decades. But, honestly, I don't expect that I'll ever retire anyway.

> I plan for a scenario in which I’ll be “forced into obsolescence” in my late 40s due to ageism

That's not inevitable. I'm in my 50s and am in as much demand as I ever have been. The key (at any age) is that you have to keep your skillset up to date.

Not all companies want experienced people, but companies who strongly prefer younger employees do so because they know they can take advantage of them, and so aren't the sorts of companies I'd be willing to work for anyway.

> In my case, I really have to go for jobs where swes make $300-400k/yr.

Yow! You must live in an area with an insane cost of living! If that were me, I'd move to somewhere more reasonable. Software engineering jobs are everywhere.