Wow - uhh, I think we check AA back of the envelope or very crudely once a year or so (end of year). We will have cascading pensions, so the investments are in addition to - we do have a decade or so of investment income augmentation needed before next pension comes in, so are working towards taxable account with an amount that spins off a specific income for during that time (and possibly augmented with part-time *work* as consultants).
However, we have been slowly moving our assets from all equities to a more balanced approach anticipating the upcoming retirement. We also have been very aggressive on the defensive side of the equation minimizing that which we buy to what we really need or truly value. We don't anticipate having a mortgage in our retirement, so the lifestyle costs decrease concomitantly.
BL: Count me in the lazy column regarding AA diligence.
PS: I have read Four Pillars - excellent book, although it is dusty now and I've forgotten specifics. I remember he warned about lowering expectations regarding yield and had some awesome examples from history regarding bubbles (tulips anyone?) As for FIRECALC, I think I played with it once or so. We're spreadsheet fans showing where we are net worth-wise, what we anticipate coming in for retirement income purposes and what we spend. To be honest, with pensions, one can always pare down to only spending what's coming in if needed - hence the LBYM ninja (new term which replaces evangelist and black belt according to WSJ) skills. If pensions go by the wayside, I believe there would be a lot more pressing issues that will be forefront in our minds (we have active military and Reserve military pensions) than retirement lifestyle.