This does happen and my earlier posts were not intended to sound cold or heartless.
It happens all the time but in planning for RE, I think one should play the percentages and focus on the 80% of people who RE, live a good life and die with a decent residue.
Every RE'd person on this forum made a certain leap of faith that the worst possible scenario will not happen.
As we've all learned throughout our lives, everything has a risk: marriage, career, kids, work and investments to name a few. You do your best and prepare your best but sometimes there's no accounting for the broadside. You cannot plan for every eventuality and expense, otherwise you'd never leave your house.
Back to the OP's question, there are situations that will leave you penniless. Retiring early without sufficient cushion and/or overspending will almost guarantee that. There are social back-ups out there, some good, some iffy at best.
If you find yourself penniless and drooling at 97 years old, well....maybe it was all worth it. If you think you'll be in trouble at 67 years old, maybe you need to re-think your plans.
S**t happens along the way. You figure the odds, roll the dice and go.