I retired after teaching elementary school for 33 years. I am and have always been chronically sub-rich. So, I can honestly say that it's true; you can't really miss what you've never had.

I'm very fortunate to have a spouse that continues to work as a teacher so that I can continue to get insurance through her plan for a less steep cost than if I had to go to the market. I also EARNED a subsistence, guaranteed pension with a minuscule insurance credit. Additionally, my school division offered a 5 year deal whereby I could earn one year's salary spread over the whole period if I committed to substituting at schools for 32 days a year.

After all new sources of income are considered, our joint income dropped by about 1/3.

To get to this point, we lived an extremely frugal life. We took very few vacations, rarely dined out, bought raw foods and cooked, second-hand clothes for the kids. We saved for expenses and to send our kids to college. We also put aside money in 403b accounts (similar to 401k...but for educators) starting at an early age to be tapped later in our retirement. We've resisted over-extending on home purchases. We will have our one and only house paid off next year at this time. All kids are student loan-free, as are we.

We've also been lucky. We haven't had to deal with any financially damning health events yet, just the normal, occasional knee, shoulder, or hernia surgery. One bit of fortune we received was an inheritance from both of our parents when they passed. While not a gigantic sum, the money allowed us to retire one car debt and purchase another in cash.

For retirement, we have no desire to live a lavish life. We plan to travel if we can, but we know that we can always get in a vehicle and explore our own marvelous country quite inexpensively. We are frugal people, so I don't see that changing. With the house paid off, our lone outstanding financial concern is health and healthcare.

In short:
Frugality
Clear Debt
Luck
Saving
Demand employee benefits from your employer like a defined benefit pension

...and a spouse who doesn't grumble too much about you being a dead-beat, because she knows just how close the job came to killing you.