My family should be comfortably above the 200k, but I know a number of people who are below the 200k threshold, even in the NY metro area. One of the biggest fa

My family should be comfortably above the 200k, but I know a number of people who are below the 200k threshold, even in the NY metro area. One of the biggest factors tends to be whether a person has had a major health issue that prevented the person from working. The medical bills + the inability to work are a double-whammy. If you were laid off and it takes 6 months plus to find a job, you're spending your savings. Outside of NY, CA, and other major metropolitan areas the median income is much lower. For example the median income in Richmond, Indiana is just under $30k. If you live paycheck to paycheck for much of your life, you probably never got the chance to save much for retirement 1) The value of $200k varies where in the US you are. Outside of California and the northeast metropolis' like NYC, Boston etc, that's a reasonable amount of money, especially in rural areas, because that money stretches farther. 2) It's very easy to spend your way through one's retirement savings if you have a healthcare issue or get laid off during a recession or have some reason why you can't work consistently. 3)