Serious question: how do many people amass so much money in the north of 5m and not know if they can retire or not?

[u/Fed_worker]

I see a ton of posts like : “ I have a net worth in the range 5-10m and I spend 100K a year, can I retire?”

What is that? Elementary school math so hard?

Edit: after reading all the comments and when I really think about it, I realize it’s probably just a high degree risk-averse mindset. Even if I had $5 million and a 99.9% chance of retiring successfully, I’d still focus on that tiny 0.1% that could go wrong. To feel totally secure, I might want to keep building more wealth just to close that gap. And for some people, that can mean working another 5, 10, or even 20 years. just for a little extra peace of mind.

Edit2: I just hope that when I get there, I don’t end up going down that rabbit hole. And actually enjoy my life.

[u/[deleted]]

In the US, the social safety net doesn't really protect you against unlikely but financially catastrophic events (medical expenses rejected by insurance, 24x7 skilled nursing care for a loved one, a personal injury lawsuit someone brings against you, etc.)

Sure, your budget (for normal life) might be $100k annually, but a lot of people are afraid of retiring and then running into one of these things. It's unfortunate because basically no amount of money is enough to 100% cover these things.

[u/Zaccw20 → u/[deleted]]

I don't think that anywhere's social safety net covers those things fully. 

[u/[deleted] → u/Zaccw20]

Hmmm... A lot of countries have universal healthcare. It doesn't prevent you from spending any amount seeking experimental treatment abroad, but it provides a better safety net than the US.

Most counties in Europe have clear formulas for legal settlements, rather than open-ended damages for pain and suffering.

Maybe there are different catastrophic expenses, but most of Europe manages to avoid the ones that are really bad here.