"Die With Zero" has caught on to encourage retirees to spend to their hearts delight rather than scrimping, saving and ending up dying with few memories and experiences. But some financial advisers warn about what that takes and question if it's right for everyone.
"Die With Zero" is the title of a book by Skylar Capital founder Bill Perkins who advocates for people to stop accumulating retirement savings and instead, spend the money to enjoy their lives to the fullest. Memorable experiences early in life, including donating or giving money away, create a "memory dividend" that creates a compounding emotional return, paying joy back each time you recall or share those memories later, he says. So, turn around your thinking and instead of dying
with the largest bank balance, aim for $0.
It's not a bad idea for those who meticulously plan and regularly save, but those who don't do either or are simply spendthrifts should probably sit out this movement, some financial advisers say. A 2026 Allianz survey showed nearly half of Americans (48%) do not have a written financial plan.
"Die with zero requires a lot of planning," said Ami Doshi, director of business development at Hightower Signature Wealth. "Clients we've seen with this have very intentional planning behind it."
Why do people like 'die with zero'?
Die with zero has become aspirational for a couple of reasons: the realization that many retirees spend too conservatively and that "you only live once," Doshi said.
The 4% rule is generally the accepted guidance to help seniors safely draw down their retirement funds without running out of money over 30 years. Basically, the rule is to withdraw 4% of your total investment portfolio and adjust that by inflation each year.
Recently, many analysts have disputed that as too conservative, yet, many retirees don't even hit the 4% goal, according to a study by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Approximately one-third of retirees still have 100% or more of their initial retirement assets remaining by their mid-80s, EBRI found.
"Although outliving one’s savings is often viewed as the primary concern in retirement, it is also important for retirees to use their resources in ways that support consumption, security, autonomy and intended bequests," EBRI said. "High or rising asset balances may be concerning if they reflect unnecessary underspending, inefficient self-insurance, or the use of tax-advantaged accounts primarily for wealth transfer rather than retirement support."
A 2025 study in Financial Planning Review by David Blanchett and Michael Finke found 65-year-olds in married households with at least $100,000 in assets only withdrew approximately 2.1% annually from retirement savings. Singles spent even less, 1.9%. Both are significantly below the generally accepted 4% rule.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 shifted people's mindsets to the reality that you only live once, or YOLO, changing how people view life and set their priorities. After being mostly shut in for more than a year, people were happy to spend and live life to the fullest again, valuing experiences and remote work.
Can die with zero make you happy?
Science backs the idea that looks, piles of money, cars and other material possessions don't keep us happy, according to Yale University's popular class, "The Science of Well-Being," taught by Dr. Laurie Santos. Instead, the course teaches people to rethink what "awesome stuff" is and invest in experiences over things.
How can people achieve die with zero?
Planning is key, and one of the first things to do is buy permanent or whole life insurance while still fairly young, said Steve Azoury, owner of Azoury Financial.
"The dream is to die at 99 (years) and broke with a big life insurance policy," Azoury said. "You had a good time, but everyone else gets something. If you think it's selfish to spend all your money, the life insurance will make it guilt-free."
The life insurance policy, paid over years, will provide a tax-free death benefit for heirs if you're worried about leaving a monetary legacy for family, friends or charities. he said.
Additionally, it can serve as a financal cushion if inflation suddenly jumps, the stock market drops or you need a little extra money for health care needs, he said. People can withdraw what you paid in premiums from the policy tax-free or take a loan from it that reduces the death benefit for heirs if not repaid.
In Doshi's practice, it's mostly ultra high net worth (UHNW) clients who are considering die with zero. The first thing they determine are the non-negotiables like travel, she said.
"We figure out what the bare minimum is to make sure the floor is there, the basic requirements," Doshi said. Since UHNW folks often self-fund their long-term care, she also makes sure money's set aside for that.
If married, both spouses also have to agree to pursue die with zero. Sometimes one spouse isn't on board, and it's usually the woman, she said, "because their money mindset is different."
Doshi warned that the die with zero plan also has financial drawbacks, like losing tax efficiency. Withdrawing money whenever you want to spend and give triggers taxes you may have been able to avoid with a measured tax-minimizing strategy.
Giving assets to heirs early, before death, also can erase some tax benefits like the step-up in basis. When someone inherits a brokerage account or property, the assets are "stepped up," or revalued to the market value on the day the person died, which means the heir can sell them and pay little to no tax if they sell immediately.
But those usually aren't problems for UHNW people, Doshi said.
"Don't we all want to die and have the last check bounce?" Azoury said.
Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Die with zero' gains momentum. How to turn it into a financial plan
