For the first, the idea of retiring in such a high COL area is baffling. However, more of my ire was raised in the second question regarding reasonable fees for financial management firms. Admittedly, I am formally and self-educated in the field, but the idea of paying someone 1-2% to decide how to allocate my money and then look at it quarterly is offensive.
The most I could stomach is to hire a fee-only advisor for a one time consultation to review a specific tax or estate planning question.
For the second half of his answer to that question, though, he says that you need to look at these fees in the light of how much they are costing you in the long run, and even mentions a Vanguard fund as a cheap alternative that tends to beat the managed funds. I can't find anything wrong with that suggestion.
As for his answer to the first question, it's not like the lady asking gave him anything to work with. She doesn't mention income, current savings, ideal COL after retirement, or current spending. Without even one of these data points (especially COL in this case), I don't see how he could have come up with a more targeted answer. To be honest, he probably just should not have answered this question publicly in its current state.