Please see the attached image: says more than I could express in words.

From Richard Russel's Rich Man Poor Man

http://ww2.dowtheoryletters.com/DTLOL.nsf

Actively investing in your later years seems a bit pointless in light of this.

Yeah I saw that kind of thing in the little Motley Fool book I bought when I was a student. I used to make similar spreadsheets in Excel too which never ceased to amaze me. A million pounds just by whacking £14,000 in the bank! Woah!!

Then helped along by this forum, I discovered inflation. And the compounding interest dreamer inside me died a little. (in terms of cash at least)

Edit: Not to say compounding isn't an amazing thing - it is.