Forget the trust fund. Affluent boomers have discovered something better to do with their money: spend it.
It’s got nothing to do with hitting the slopes: in 2026, the ‘SKI’ phenomenon – Spending Kids’ Inheritance – has moved from tongue-in-cheek acronym to legitimate financial strategy among wealthy retirees.
Instead of careful estate planning and legacy preservation, they’re booking $30,000 safaris, chartering yachts in the Adriatic, and generally treating retirement like one extended victory lap. The kids can figure it out.
This isn’t a marginal trend. A Booking.com study claims nearly half of baby boomers – 45% – now say they’d rather fund a trip of a lifetime than leave an inheritance. And according to Charles Schwab, among households with over $1 million in investible assets, 40% rank travel as their single biggest luxury expenditure, with total U.S. travel spending is projected to reach $1.35 trillion. That’s a lot of business class upgrades.
“We’re seeing a generational shift from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, where affluent travelers are prioritising experiences over possessions,” says Kyle Oram, founder of luxury travel agency KVI Luxe.
For many, the COVID pandemic and the increasing global volatility have clarified things. Mortality has become less abstract, time more finite, and the appeal of dying with a fat bank account diminished accordingly. Now retirees are funding multi-generational trips, where the kids get to come along and watch the inheritance evaporate in real time, while pursuing decidedly non-leisurely vacations.
The same Booking.com study notes interest in adventure travel among boomers has doubled; they’re summiting mountains and diving reefs, not just parking themselves on cruise ship decks. The philosophy is simple: you can’t take it with you, and your heirs will probably waste it anyway. Might as well blow it on something memorable.
