In my case, education expenditures are behind us, but ealth care costs in the us are indeed a major cost item (1 w/yr is what I heard from you if buying self).
And once one leaves work, he probably cannot afford an aggrresive investment strategy, which means a lower return on money in hand.
Right now, my asset allocation is roughly 1/3 each on real eastate, stock/mutual funds, and cash.
May stick around working for a few years.
Happy holidays!