[colinmhayes]

capital gains tax at 15% would mean that if you sell 4% of your holdings a year your post tax income is 3.4% or $68,000. That's around $80,000 pre tax which is surely enough to live a middle class lifestyle in the right location if you can figure out the health care situation. Seems to me the questions are 1. How do you get insurance? and 2. Will the historical market conditions that allow for 4% yearly withdrawal while keeping up with inflation continue?

[sgt101]

Well, I live in the UK so the insurance thing is a luxury, not a total essential. Also while $2m is almost certainly more than enough for me to live off I won't have to - because I can still work part time if I want to.

And given it's mid life, well sadly it's only got to last me for 40 years, optimistically.