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- Delaney Sawyer via Fortune | FORTUNE
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Bill Perkins Says Give Kids Inheritance in Their Late 20s, Not After Death
ReBill Perkins Says Give Kids Inheritance in Their Late 20s, Not After Death
Multimillionaire author Bill Perkins argues that parents who plan to leave money to their children should transfer it in their late 20s or early 30s, when it can still change their lives, rather than waiting until death when its impact is diminished.
Parents who intend to leave money to their children should hand it over while those children are in their late 20s or early 30s, not after they die, according to Bill Perkins, the hedge fund multimillionaire and best-selling author of «Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life.»
Perkins told Fortune Daily host Ellie Austin that the conventional practice of passing down an inheritance after death often means the money arrives too late to make its biggest difference. His recommendation is specific: if you already plan to leave money to your children, put it in a trust and give it to them when they are between the ages of 28 and 33.
«The reason why is that your brain reaches peak mental acuity at 28 on average, and you’re in decline and plateau starting at 33,» Perkins said. «The utility of money starts to decline and the seasons of your life start to pass you by.»
At first glance, the advice might seem to conflict with the core message of his book, which urges people to spend or give away their wealth during their lifetime rather than hoarding it. But Perkins argues that dying with zero also means making sure your children are taken care of — and that the timing of that support matters enormously.
He points to the example of Virginia Colin, a woman featured in his book who raised four children on her own after a divorce and struggled financially even though her mother had ample resources. After her mother died when Colin was 49, she and each of her siblings received an inheritance of $130,000. By then, Colin had remarried and was no longer, as she put it, «at the edge of poverty.»
«It just would have been a lot more valuable a lot earlier,» Colin, who was 68 when the book was published, said.
Perkins cites Federal Reserve Board data showing that the most common age for people to receive an inheritance is 60. He argues that waiting for death to dictate the timing of a transfer leaves the decision to chance, requiring a great deal of luck for the money to arrive at the moment a child might need it most. Waiting also raises the odds that a parent could outlive some of their children.
«If you plan on giving money to your kids, well, that’s their money, not your money,» Perkins said. «And then we think about when is the best time to give them that money, and the answer—the short answer—is it’s not a bequest. It’s long before you die.»
Perkins’ argument lands at a moment when younger Americans are struggling to afford milestones that earlier generations reached sooner. About half of Americans ages 18 to 29 live with their parents as mortgage rates rise near 7%, putting a first home out of budget for many buyers. The median age of a first-time homebuyer rose to 40 last year, up from 28 in 1991.
Last week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 as the August consumer price index rose 0.4%. Inflation has remained above the Fed’s 2% target rate for the past five years.
At a younger age, a person could use an inheritance for a down payment on a home or to pay off student loans, Perkins argues. By the time they are older, that money may simply not have the same effect.
He contends that many people follow the status quo by giving away their money after death rather than considering when it might benefit the recipients most.
«That is not really thinking about your kids,» Perkins said. «That’s kind of like an autopilot decision that’s been passed down from generation to generation.»
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