Say you make 1 million a year but only spend $100k, that means you need 10s/100s of millions of dollars To replace your million dollar income?
I exaggerated a bit but the same math applies if say you make $100k but only spend $50k. You don’t need to replace your income you need to replace your expenses. This becomes especially true as you stop funding retirement accounts, your mortgage is paid off, and your kids move out. Most people’s expenses drop in retirement. So my goal is to replace my current spending level and then the buffer is my safety net (my mortgage will go away and my expenses will go down but I will have saved as if I was still paying the mortgage etc)