economy
More people are using AI for retirement planning, but how accurate is it? Here's what experts say.
Updated on: May 8, 2026 / 8:55 AM EDT / CBS News
TL;DR
- Approximately 20% of Americans are using AI chatbots for financial advice, with a higher adoption rate among those who already use AI at work.
- Many Americans face retirement challenges due to rising living costs and inadequate savings, with the median retirement balance falling far short of desired retirement needs.
- AI can assist with basic retirement planning questions and simulations, but experts warn it lacks the nuance to handle complex factors like tax impacts and longevity risk.
- Some experts criticize AI's financial advice as being trained on flawed traditional models and potentially providing incorrect Social Security projections.
- AI chatbots struggle with tax optimization, regulatory nuances, and are not legally bound to act in a client's best interest.
- Testing AI chatbots on a hypothetical retirement scenario revealed varying levels of pessimism and limitations in accurately modeling lifespan, taxes, and long-term care costs.
- A significant barrier to retirement readiness is often behavioral, such as a fear of investing, which AI may not be equipped to address.
- Experts advise users to critically question AI outputs, asking about assumptions, uncertainties, and potential errors.