Your inheritance will likely be very different from your parents’. Two forces are at play. First, as life expectancies lengthen, the next generation is receiving inheritances much later in life. Second, the amount of wealth changing hands is staggering: Trillions of dollars will be passed down as part of the Great Wealth Transfer.
People inheriting money in their 30s or 40s might use those funds to buy a home or pay for their children’s college. But those receiving inheritances in their 50s and 60s are using that money differently. For many, this windfall triggers a “second retirement” — an unexpected phase of financial freedom that allows them to completely rewrite their timeline.
Here’s how experts recommend maximizing a late-in-life inheritance.
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Buying back time
“Most of the 60-year-olds I work with are trying to get rid of stuff, not buy more.” — Joshua Mangoubi
Well-off people are often advised to give with warm hands (while they are still alive) for a reason. Financial gifts for children during their 20s, 30s, or 40s can often be more “helpful” than receiving that money later.
Joshua Mangoubi, founder and chief investment officer at Considerate Capital Wealth Management, is familiar with that scenario. But he also says the narrative is shifting.
“What I usually hear is some version of, ‘Man, I could have used this in 1998.’ I get it. I would have said the same thing. Give it a few months, though, and the 1998 comment stops coming up,” he says.
As Mangoubi explains, “At 35, the money buys stuff. At 60, you already own the stuff. Most of the 60-year-olds I work with are trying to get rid of stuff, not buy more. So what does the money buy now? Time.”
What makes a late-in-life inheritance even more valuable, Mangoubi says, is that many older people know what they want to do with their time, whether it’s seeing their grandchildren more often, exploring hobbies, or traveling. And that’s something it’s hard to put a price tag on.
Paying for long-term care
On the flipside, Mangoubi says, a lot of people who receive an inheritance later end up using it to pay for a surviving parent’s long-term care.
“Long-term care insurance has an ugly math problem,” Mangoubi says. “The people who can self-fund their care don’t need it, and the people who need it can’t afford it.”
Given the way medical costs keep climbing, Mangoubi isn’t surprised by this trend. According to CareScout, the median cost of an annual assisted living stay was $74,400 and a private room in a nursing home was almost $130,000 annually, as of 2025.
While covering long-term care isn’t the most fun way to use an inheritance, it can at least alleviate an otherwise huge financial burden. Plus, recipients of an inheritance who don’t have their own long-term care plan can use the money to fund one.
Helping children and grandchildren
By the time many people reach their 50s or 60s, they’ve saved well and are still in their peak earning years. As such, they don’t necessarily have a great use for an inheritance. In these situations, recipients will often use the money to better the lives of their kids and, if applicable, grandkids, says Brandon M. Cox, CFP and founder of Coastline Complete Wealth.
“I also see people who inherit in their 50s and 60s realize they already have enough for themselves and start gifting money to their children or grandchildren. In that sense, some late-life inheritances almost skip a generation economically, even if they don’t legally,” he explains.
Cox has also observed an interesting trend.
“I’d say more than half of the people I work with who receive a substantial inheritance want to keep all of it in their own bloodline,” he says. “Their children become the beneficiaries of those inherited assets instead of their spouse, even in happy first marriages.”
Retiring earlier than planned
(Image credit: Getty Images)
While older beneficiaries of an inheritance may not “need” the money, it can often be a catalyst for early retirement, Cox says.
“We generally build retirement plans as if an inheritance isn’t coming,” he explains. “Once it actually arrives, though, you can see people realize pretty quickly how different their financial picture is.”
Cox shares that he once had a client with a successful pharmaceutical sales career who was making good money, but her inheritance let her retire earlier than she otherwise would have.
This phenomenon often acts as a “second retirement,” where an unexpected late-in-life windfall allows someone to abandon their primary career trajectory and immediately enter a new phase of absolute financial independence.
“Once you know you don’t have to work anymore, that starts weighing on you pretty heavily when you’re having a bad day at work,” he insists.
Patrick Simasko, elder law attorney and financial adviser at Simasko Law, has also seen late-in-life inheritances fuel earlier retirements than planned.
“Kids seem to want to retire earlier than their parents. They saw their parents work and never took advantage of their savings. The kids want to start their retirement as early as possible,” he says.
Buying more financial security
In Simasko’s experience, many of his clients who receive a late-in-life inheritance are already in a strong position to retire comfortably. But that extra money, he says, can buy more financial security.
“There has been a major shift away from traditional pensions,” Simasko explains. “For a 55- or 60-year-old who may not have a pension of their own, an inherited IRA or other retirement assets can substantially strengthen their retirement picture. In many cases, the inheritance isn’t about buying something new — it’s about providing greater security, flexibility, and freedom during retirement.”
Pivoting to meaningful work
Some people may not be ready to retire in their 50s or 60s, despite being able to do so following a sizable inheritance. Allison Moeschberger, CFP and VP wealth adviser at Johnson Financial Group, says she’s seen clients use their excess income later in life to adapt their careers rather than ditch them.
“Working because you feel you have to is very different than working because you want to,” Moeschberger says. “An inheritance can allow them to retire early, move to part-time, switch careers to try something new, or move from a paying job to volunteering.”
Moeschberger shares a few stories of meaningful pivots.
“One client left their demanding job as an attorney and became a substitute teacher so they had the choice of working when they wanted to,” she says. “Another stepped down from running a business to become a bartender at their local brewery because they already enjoyed going there as a customer and still wanted to be able to interact with people and have interesting conversations.”
Funding family memories
(Image credit: Getty Images)
You may not need more stuff if you inherit money in your 50s or 60s. But you can use that money to buy experiences, Moeschberger says.
“One of the best parts of being a wealth adviser is watching clients experience the things they dreamed of or wanted to do but thought would never be possible for them,” she says. “Mediterranean cruises, real estate purchases in a new location, and home additions are all examples I’ve seen.”
Moeschberger also said one client of hers chose to invite their kids and grandkids on a big family trip as an experience they would all appreciate and remember. And that’s a wonderful way to honor a loved one, too.
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