[mildtrepidation]

Or you were chronically underpaid and didn't realize it. Or you were the victim of circumstances beyond your control that resulted in abnormal financial burdens. Or any of innumerable reasons someone's life can simply not go perfectly.

The idea that getting a job, keeping it, and living responsibly necessarily result in sufficient savings and assets for retirement is pretty widespread and deeply flawed. Life just is not that simple, and there are plenty of ways to end up screwed (in varying degrees) without having done anything particularly irresponsible or stupid that would warrant it.

[greenyoda]

You don't even need to be the victim of unforeseen circumstances. Just having kids makes it much harder to save money. Your expenses for food, clothing, housing, energy, healthcare, etc. go way up, and if both parents work, they're paying for daycare when the children are young. Which means it's much harder to invest a significant fraction of your income.