AI is creating disruptions in many places — software programming, copyright ownership, information validation — but one unexpected area of upheaval seems to be occurring in retirement planning. While tech disruption often tends to raise flags about older workers getting pushed aside, the reality is decidedly more complex and, in many instances, even surprisingly optimistic.
Sure, 15% of senior employees say AI advances are pushing them toward the door of retirement, but here’s the kicker: a full 13% say AI is doing the opposite. These older workers aren’t running from AI — they’re chasing it, actually looking for jobs where they can plunge deeper into artificial intelligence.
That’s according to results from a Carewell survey of more than 895 U.S. employees over the age of 55 working across 11 different industries.
There’s A Wide AI Digital Divide Among Senior Workers
While the study findings show that almost half of workers over 55 rarely or never touch AI tools, there’s a tech-savvy minority of seasoned employees — 10% — who say they use AI every day. Despite the wide AI digital divide, it’s important not to mistake limited use for a lack of interest.
The majority of respondents — 51% — are hungry for AI training, particularly in prompt engineering, yet only 16% have received any formal instruction.
But where are the most enthusiastic seniors when it comes to embracing AI? It’s no surprise that the technology sector drives this forward, with 27% of older IT workers using AI every day. Coming next is retail at 24% and leisure/hospitality at 18%. Surprisingly, healthcare workers lag far behind, at only 6%, despite an ever-increasing AI adoption within the healthcare industry.
Here’s the ranking of AI by industry as determined by the percentage of senior respondents within each sector:
- Information technology (27%)
- Retail (24%)
- Leisure & Hospitality (18%)
- Manufacturing (17%)
- Government (16%)
- Transportation (14%)
- Financial Activities (13%)
- Business Services (12%)
- Administration (9%)
- Education (8%)
- Healthcare (6%)
The road to integration with AI, however, has not been smooth. Those who have used AI more frequently reported higher levels of stress — possibly due to the lack of training in the use of AI. Many seniors have had to learn new AI tools independently without guidance or support from their employers.
While AI adoption is growing in the workplace among this demographic, only 9% of seniors use AI tools for personal tasks. Put another way, seniors are utilitarian adopters who are choosing to use this technology when it serves a clear professional purpose rather than finding ways to integrate AI in their personal lives.
AI Is Impacting Work, Life And Retirement Balance
The bottom line is that the nature of the workforce is changing, and age is not a barrier to technological adoption when experienced workers get the training and support they are demanding.
While some senior workers reimagine their careers through the AI lens, others are in dire need of better resources to narrow the gap of digital divide.
These survey results don’t portray an aging cohort driven to retirement because of the complexities of AI. Rather it demonstrates a demographic that’s poised and anxious to learn and selectively adapt, with many of them finding ways through which AI could be fitted into their work lives.
It’s not about retirement versus relevance, it’s about giving experienced workers the tools they need to evolve alongside technology.