What Is the “Die With Zero” Retirement Philosophy?

For so many people approaching retirement, there’s often an innate desire to leave wealth for their loved ones, but the “die with zero” philosophy encourages retirees to question why, and consider reframing the legacy narrative altogether.

Do you feel compelled to create a big inheritance because that’s what’s expected? Will your children benefit the most from a lump sum after death? Or… are you passing on opportunities and lived experiences in the pursuit of dying with more?

Traditional estate planning and retirement planning prioritize preserving wealth for your children and grandchildren—essentially saving as much as you can and passing the majority of it on after death. A “die with zero” philosophy, however, compels you to reset priorities, focusing instead on maximizing your life experiences and giving to loved ones earlier (without sacrificing your long-term financial well-being).

Understanding the phrase “Die With Zero”

Coined by author Bill Perkins in his book Die With Zero, the philosophy of maximizing spending in retirement has gained widespread attention since the book debuted in 2020.¹

Now, the idea of dying with nothing might sound alarming, almost like a suggestion to spend recklessly and without strategy until there’s nothing left. In reality, the philosophy is much more nuanced.

A “die with zero” philosophy encourages you to think more intentionally about when and how your wealth is used during your lifetime. Instead of focusing solely on accumulating wealth and preserving it indefinitely, think about how your financial resources can support meaningful experiences and priorities while you’re still able to enjoy them.

Everyone’s retirement bucket list looks different, but it could mean traveling the world, pursuing more passions and hobbies, moving to live near family, or gifting to loved ones earlier in life (when they might need it most).

What “Die With Zero” is not

Despite how it sounds, this philosophy does not urge followers to spend until their bank balance is literally zero dollars on the day they die. It’s not meant to encourage excess spending in retirement, nor should you ignore the need for financial security and portfolio longevity.

Rather, it challenges the common tendency to save excessively out of fear. As a result of spending too conservatively, you’re left with large sums of unused wealth later in life. The goal of “die with zero” is to avoid ending your life with a significant surplus of money that never meaningfully contributed to your happiness or your family’s well-being.¹

How it works

The experiences you dream about in retirement, say traveling internationally or hiking national parks, often come with unspoken time constraints. Depending on your physical health and retirement goals, many of the things you want to do, see, or accomplish in retirement are easier or, sometimes, only possible, earlier on. That’s when you’re likely to be the most mobile.

“Die with zero” reminds us that time matters just as much as money. Waiting too long to spend on meaningful experiences could mean missing the window of opportunity to fully enjoy them.

This idea of spending strategically on certain experiences earlier on, when you’re at your youngest and healthiest, is what challenges traditional retirement thinking.

After decades of saving diligently, you feel protective of your portfolio once retirement arrives. But too much caution may mean your portfolio continues to grow, while you hesitate to spend it. Eventually, you may find yourself with a large balance that doesn’t get used during the years when those funds could have delivered the greatest enjoyment or impact.

Giving your wealth a higher impact on happiness

According to the philosophy, your money has the highest value when it can support experiences and priorities while you’re physically and mentally able to appreciate them.

Importantly, the “die with zero” philosophy still emphasizes the need to maintain a solid financial foundation. The essentials of financial stability are always important to remember and should be prioritized above additional spending.

These typically include:

• Maintaining an easily accessible emergency savings account
• Planning for long-term care needs
• Incorporating the appropriate insurance coverage
• Addressing required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts

Creating time buckets

The “die with zero” philosophy encourages participants to create “time buckets.” Certain activities naturally align with specific stages of life, and planning ahead can help ensure you actually pursue them while you’re physically able.²

For example, your 50s bucket might include more travel and supporting kids through college. In your 60s, you might focus on moving to your dream retirement home, babysitting grandkids, or hiking the Grand Canyon. As you move to your 70s and 80s buckets, you might find yourself slowing down and focusing on volunteer work in your community or spending time with family.

Creating buckets and determining what you’d like to put in each can help you keep track of your life goals and prioritize the right things at the right time.

Rethinking how you leave an inheritance

While you may leave a smaller inheritance to your children after death, you don’t have to forgo your goals of giving generously. In fact, providing financial support earlier in a child’s or grandchild’s life can often create a greater, more meaningful impact.

Say they’re looking to buy a home, pay for a wedding, or start a business. Rather than collect an inheritance later in life, when they may or may not need it, you can give them a part of their inheritance now, as a gift. Doing so could help set them on a more positive financial path, particularly if it means they can avoid taking on debt.

Considerations for the “Die With Zero” philosophy

As we mentioned, the “die with zero” philosophy isn’t without its considerations.

Whether you’re following a more traditional retirement plan or not, things will happen in retirement that you can’t predict or control. If you’re unable to address or minimize these risks, they could impact your portfolio’s ability to support your financial needs long-term.

Some common retirement risks include:

• Longevity risk: Outliving your portfolio and other retirement assets
• Inflation risk: High inflation can diminish your purchasing power
• Healthcare risk: Underestimating the cost of healthcare in retirement
• Market risk: When markets perform poorly (especially early in retirement), it can yield substantial, long-term losses in your portfolio

Without planning and ongoing oversight, a “die with zero” strategy could increase your risk of running out of money in retirement.

In addition, the “die with zero” philosophy requires a potentially higher emotional tolerance for risk than more traditional retirement planning strategies. For some people, the idea of spending more in retirement is a scary thought—and the stress of drawing down retirement resources outweighs the potential joy of doing more earlier in life.

Who may benefit from this strategy?

The “die with zero” philosophy isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. But if you’re on the younger side of retirement and in good health, it might make sense to prioritize funding the experiences you can physically enjoy today (while still maintaining ample resources for future needs).

You’ll also likely want a solid sense of financial security, with reasonable safety nets already in place. For example, you should have access to predictable retirement income and manageable financial obligations. If you’re struggling to pay down sizable debt in retirement, you may not have the financial flexibility to pursue a stronger spending strategy.

How does “die with zero” sound to you?

For the full breakdown of how the “die with zero” philosophy works, and whether it’s right for your retirement, you may find the book worth reading. Regardless of what retirement lifestyle you choose, the fundamentals of security and stability remain the same. It might be helpful to talk to a financial advisor about your retirement goals and whether reconfiguring your strategy makes sense.