For the plan to actually work, think about all the stars needed to align perfectly: Hope I have a job—not just a job but a good job. Hope the economy gives me that good job for the next fifty years. Hope the stock market yields 10 percent a year and doesn’t crash. Hope the housing market doesn’t implode and erase my equity. Hope I’m alive by retirement. Hope I’m healthy. Hope the government doesn’t hyperinflate my savings or the currency in which it is denominated. Hope the government can continually fund a bankrupt Social Security program.
