One thing to remember is that the life expectancy is only that--an average. For example, I'll be 65 in a few months, but I keep in mind that this 84 year life expectancy undoubtedly includes smokers, alcoholics, and overweight and inactive people who probably have depressed this number to where it is, suggesting that those who take proper care of themselves are likely to live longer than this and should plan their finances accordingly. (For example, my father died at 90, and that is the figure I generally use in my planning--but having said that, I might drop dead tomorrow; the obituaries are full of people dropping off in their 50s and 60s!)

Another thought is that there is nothing that says the one can't target financial growth after retirement or that "stocks and bonds" are the only investment vehicles. Retiring should free up some time to become more investment-savvy and assume greater responsibility for one's finances rather than just leaving it to the "professionals" to grab their commissions and fees whether your accounts grow or not. After retiring a couple years ago, my BIL showed me some investment strategies that have worked well for him, and after trying it myself and liking what I saw I "fired" my broker and took over my own investments (but the broker tried to tell me "...but that means you have to watch your investments"). I figure one works hard at a job or profession for 30 to 50 years to build wealth, so it makes sense to devote equal attention and diligence to managing it after retirement. It's also fun to do this.