There are a lot of areas of the U.S. where people actually do retire on $25K/year. Having said that, they probably own their home, have cheap Medicare and have paid all child-related expenses at that point. So you're right, for most 30 year olds it's a different story.

Also, even if people budget a $25K/year retirement there is always the possibility of needing long term nursing home care in the last years of life. (Say, if you're a football player that suffers dementia later in life.) Depending on the quality of care, that can wipe out even a $1M nest egg. It's a big financial concern at that age. It's not covered by insurance the way that, say, a heart attack or stroke is.

Yes, I don't mean to exclude those people. Both pairs of my grandparents had a fixed income of less than that. But as you said, they didn't have many personal expenses beyond bills and food.

Does SEA mean Seattle? My mind is blown that Seattle comes to your mind as the least expensive place in the US...

No, Southeast Asia. E.g. Indonesia or Thailand (just not Singapore)

Ah, got it, thanks.

Southeast Asia.