&gt; Pretty much any major negative event will add a decade and pretty much everyone has at least a one of those. A single one can wipe out years of savings, even at a 50%+ savings rate.<p>Define &quot;major negative event&quot; here.  Assuming you have insurance for catastrophic events, few things should be able to wipe out hundreds of thousands in savings, which is what you&#x27;d quickly build up with a high savings rate, especially in a high-paying field.<p>On insurance, see <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mrmoneymustache.com&#x2F;2011&#x2F;09&#x2F;21&#x2F;i-can-never-retire-because-of-health-insurance-waaah-waaah&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mrmoneymustache.com&#x2F;2011&#x2F;09&#x2F;21&#x2F;i-can-never-retire...</a> and <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mrmoneymustache.com&#x2F;2012&#x2F;11&#x2F;01&#x2F;our-new-237-per-month-health-insurance-plan&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mrmoneymustache.com&#x2F;2012&#x2F;11&#x2F;01&#x2F;our-new-237-per-mo...</a> .<p>More importantly, on safety margins in general, see <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mrmoneymustache.com&#x2F;2011&#x2F;10&#x2F;17&#x2F;its-all-about-the-safety-margin&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mrmoneymustache.com&#x2F;2011&#x2F;10&#x2F;17&#x2F;its-all-about-the-...</a> .<p>And even if one of your desired safety margins is a pile of savings, the higher your savings rate the sooner you build up those buffers.  If you assume one of those events will happen and wipe out a pile of savings, that&#x27;s an added drain that you&#x27;d have to account for, but a high savings rate still means you&#x27;ll retire sooner than you would have with a lower savings rate.