A man who ‘hopes he runs out of money’ before he dies explains why you may not need as much cash to retire as you think

You might need less money than you think, because you won’t be able to cover some healthcare costs anyways, and your expenses will decrease with time.

Bill Perkins wants to spend every penny before he dies, he explains in his book “Die With Zero.” Photo: Getty Images/PM Images

By Liz Knueven

Author Bill Perkins hopes to run out of money in retirement.

While he has saved for retirement, and he does hope to use that money, he hopes to really use it — he wants to spend his balance down to nothing. Instead of leaving a large inheritance, he’d rather use his money on experiences, helping his children while they’re starting out, and spending the money on his needs.

While it goes against traditional retirement planning logic, Perkins says that people may be saving too much for retirement, holding them back from living and having meaningful experiences while they’re able. While that comes at the expense of saving more for later, that might not be a bad thing.

In his book “Die with Zero,” he explains that there are four big reasons many people could actually be OK saving a bit less than they originally thought they’d need.