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It seems AI is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives — and many people are worried about what it means for their careers.
According to data from the Federal Reserve’s Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 report (1), 24% of workers ages 30 to 44 and 23% of workers ages 18 to 29 are concerned they will lose their jobs to AI. On the other hand, workers ages 60 and over were the least likely of all to have this concern, at 14%. And this does seem to make sense – workers of that age have fewer years ahead in their careers than younger ones, so they may think AI won’t affect them before retirement.
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But AI may be moving faster than their retirement plans, meaning there is less time than they think before it affects their jobs. And many older people may have more years of work ahead than they originally planned.
Should they be more worried?
According to a 2026 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (2) (GAO), the percentage of older workers (55 and up) increased from 15% to 23% of the workforce between 2003 and 2023.
When asked why they were working at an older age, more than half of those interviewed “said they were not ready for retirement or were seeking income to meet their everyday expenses.” Some also said they “wanted to supplement their Social Security income or were not eligible yet for full Social Security retirement benefits.”
One worker said, “I’m 63 years old. Job security is one of my main focuses … because I’m one check from being homeless.”
So with an increased cost-of-living leading some people to push their retirement back, AI taking income you might still need could be cause for concern.
Times are changing fast
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report (3) found that AI and information processing technologies are the top trends expected to drive business transformation from 2025 to 2030.
The report found that reading, writing, mathematics, big data, and dependability and attention to detail are some of the skills for which generative AI has a high capacity, to the point of being able to potentially act as a substitution for human intelligence.
Additionally, 28.5% of the more than 2,800 granular skills examined in the study exhibit a moderate capacity of substitution, “highlighting areas where, as the technology continues to evolve, its capacity of substitution could increase in the near future (4).”
Many older adults who want or need to keep working may have expertise in the skills most likely to be affected by AI. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean older adults nearing retirement should be driven by the fear that they will be replaced, as it may be more likely their jobs will change but not completely disappear (5) before they retire.
But it is worth considering how this technology could change your own situation as you prepare for your financial future.
Read More: Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you falling behind?
What can you do?
Regardless of your personal worries surrounding AI, preparing your skills and finances for the future is key. With more older Americans in the workforce, or returning to it, making sure that you have checks and balances in place could be a good idea.
Here are some things you can do now.
Supercharge your savings
Use whatever time you have left in your career to save as much money as you can to fund your golden years. Continue to contribute to your retirement accounts and build up your emergency fund in a high-yield savings account. A well-stocked emergency fund can give you a bit of breathing room if you lose work due to AI or help absorb a sudden medical emergency.
A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.
A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%.
That’s ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s March report.
Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000/mo minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.
Max out your retirement accounts
For those with unused contribution room in their retirement accounts, topping up those accounts could be a smart first move. Tax-advantaged accounts can help stretch your savings further while giving your investments more room to grow over time.
But in a market environment marked by persistent volatility and economic uncertainty, relying on a traditional mix of stocks and bonds might be risky. Adding defensive assets like gold might help diversify portfolios and offer a hedge against inflation and market swings. Although many advisors still recommend the traditional 60/40 split between stocks and bonds, carving out a little bit of space in your portfolio can help support your account if the market drops.
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA through Goldco.
With a minimum purchase of $10,000, Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver.
Goldco also offers a buyback guarantee — meaning the company will buy back your gold assets guaranteed at the best available rate if you ever wish to sell.
If you’re on the fence about where gold fits into your financial plan, you can download their free gold and silver information guide today to better understand the potential benefits — and risks.
Get rid of high-interest debt
Focusing on reducing your high-interest debt before retirement means you won’t have to worry about paying those high monthly bills when you’re eventually on a fixed income.
But for many Americans, that debt load is significant. The average American carried $6,715 in credit card debt as of December 2025, according to TransUnion (6). Meanwhile, the average interest rate on unpaid balances reached 21.52% as of February 2026 (7), meaning a large portion of many monthly payments is going toward interest alone rather than paying down the actual balance.
When it comes to strategies for paying down debt, the two big ones are the avalanche and snowball techniques. As the name implies, the avalanche method involves paying off your biggest, highest-interest debt first, then cascading those savings downwards to pay off the other ones. Financially, this is often the move that saves you the most money on payments over time.
But it also tends to require a greater upfront sacrifice. If you need a bit of a psychological boost, the snowball method involves knocking off your smaller debts one after the other before tackling the biggest one.
And if all that sounds too complicated, or you have too many debts to manage, you could instead look at rolling them into one payment.
Consolidating your high-interest debt into a personal loan through Credible can simplify repayment and potentially lower the amount you pay in interest over time. Instead of juggling multiple monthly payments, you’ll have one predictable payment to manage each month.
You can comparison-shop for the lowest interest rates and find personal loans starting at 5.96% APR. Credible also offers a best rate guarantee — and if you close with a better rate than you prequalify for on the platform, you’ll get a $200 gift card.
In less than three minutes, you’ll see all the lenders willing to help pay off your credit cards or other debts with a single personal loan.
If you owe a substantial amount, you may also want to see if you qualify for a debt relief program to help clear a significant portion of your debt.
With Freedom Debt Relief, you can speak with a certified debt relief consultant for free, who can show you how much you can save by partnering with them.
If you’re eligible, they can negotiate settlements with your creditors until all of your enrolled debt is resolved.
Talk to a financial planner
If you are able to, getting advice from a planner as you near your retirement years could be beneficial.
A planner can help not only with your investment portfolio but also with your tax strategy, estate plan, and budget, as well as any issues that may crop up during important life transitions. They can also help you assess whether assets like gold really make sense for your portfolio, or whether debt consolidation is the right move.
For investors with portfolios of $250,000 or more, those decisions often require even more careful coordination. Balancing withdrawals, preserving wealth and minimizing taxes can quickly become a delicate process — particularly during volatile markets or major life transitions.
Choosing the right advisor matters just as much as choosing to work with one in the first place.
You can find a reputed FINRA/SEC-registered advisor near you through WiserAdvisor.
Just answer a few questions about your savings, retirement timeline and overall investment portfolio, and WiserAdvisor will review its network to match you — for free — with up to three vetted, reputable advisors aligned to your specific needs.
WiserAdvisor does the heavy lifting when vetting financial advisors on its roster. Each advisor is screened based on their years of experience, their SEC/FINRA registration and records, and compensation criteria.
Just schedule a no-obligation consultation with your matches to find the best fit for your long-term goals.
Note: WiserAdvisor is a matching service and does not provide financial advice directly. All matched advisors are third parties and specific financial results are not guaranteed.
— With files from Em Norton
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
U.S. Federal Reserve(1); U.S. Government Accountability Office(2); World Economic Forum(3),(4); The New York Times(5); TransUnion (6); Forbes (7)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: finance.yahoo.com
