[daemonologist]

3.5% historically holds up over longer retirements (I ran a rough model and got ~98% success for 50 years). $21k is quite lean - you'd have to pick and choose luxuries like a car, no roommates, travel, etc. - but for a single person in many parts of the country it's doable. The big gamble is that Medicaid might get cut further, which would definitely force you back to work.

[quickthrowman]

Yes, it’s doable if you rent a $500/month apartment/bedroom in a rural area or split a shitty $1000/month apartment in a mid tier city and don’t have a car, never travel, and don’t use medical care. My employer paid health insurance premiums are ~$15,000/yr.

That sounds like my personal idea of Hell, I’d like to be able to get treatment if I got cancer instead of being given a prescription for painkillers and a look of sorrow from a doctor that can’t treat me.

FWIW, I currently live in a shitty $1000/month apartment in a mid-tier city, not casting any aspersions on the living situation. But, I’ve lived in this same city without a car and it’s miserable.