Although I agree with the general sentiment, I need to point out that your math is completely off because you’re not taking inflation into account. You could buy a candy with 5 cents 30 years ago whereas you need to spend 10 times higher for the same candy today. 100 years ago people worked an entire day for a dollar. That $72,000 per year is not even going to be above poverty levels in 40 years assuming an inflation rate of 3% per year and ignoring concerns about even higher inflation. So no, that amount won’t last anywhere near 97 years in a regular checking account as you’ll need to spend a million per year 97 years in the future just to experience the same standard of living as $72,000 this year.

Another thing to consider is that the average lifespan continues to increase with improvements to our medical system and general health.

I’m not trying to scare people from retiring early as it’s definitely possible with much smaller amounts that are invested properly but you need to factor inflation into the equation when calculating these things.