Suze Orman says AI is making it 'dangerous' to bank on working until 65 — forced early retirement from AI replacements can do financial damage

Orman has long warned that far too many people plan to work into their late 60s, and even into their 70s, despite the fact that doing so may not be realistic. Now, however, Orman believes that employees who plan to work later into their lives may not even have the chance to because of AI.

Orman warns that AI could put workers at a real risk of retirement insecurity

In a recent post, Orman says she has “always been concerned when people tell [her] their retirement plan is to keep working through their sixties, or to maybe never retire.” And now, she says, “AI is making this an even bigger problem by adding a new variable to the mix.”

Orman warned that AI is disrupting workplaces, and that when AI enters an industry, actual worker exits accelerate.

She believes this trend will continue in the coming years and affect every generation, especially those already in their 50s who won’t have enough savings to support themselves if their plan was to work well into the 60s and 70s but AI ends up replacing them.

Orman’s fears are not unfounded

Orman’s concerns are justified. For one thing, forced early retirement can be a total disaster.

Say, for example, that you’re a 50-year-old Gen Xer with $215,600 saved in your 401(k). You’re earning $71,000, and plan to work until you’re 65. You’ll contribute $7,000 annually to your 401(k) accounts until then and earn an average return of 8%. You’re also on track to claim a $2,167 Social Security benefit at 65, which is two years before your full retirement age of 67.

At 65, you’d have around $873,875 saved, which would produce about $34,955 in income under the 4% rule. Your combined income with Social Security would be $60,999.

But if you retired at 62, you’d have three fewer years to save, so you’d end up with just $675,681. And if you started Social Security immediately, you’d get hit with more early-filing penalties, bringing your benefit down to $1,750. Now you’re looking at just $48,027 in total income from both sources.

Retiring three years early would leave you with $12,972.00 less every year for life.

Will AI really force you out?

Of course, the big question is whether workers will actually be forced out of their jobs due to AI, as Orman warns. Unfortunately, a lot of evidence points to yes.

“We’ve literally watched automation eliminate jobs before, especially in manufacturing,” Sarah Noll Wilson, President and Founder at The Noll Wilson Group, told Moneywise. “And the reality is AI will eliminate more jobs, too. We’re seeing that happening in real time.”

The Boston Consulting Group reports that as many as 10% to 15% of jobs could be eliminated by AI within five years or so.

“This spring, AI became the leading stated reason for corporate job cuts for the first time ever,” Joel Marotti, Senior Managing Partner at Vertical Media Solutions, a resume writing and career coaching company, told Moneywise,

This troubling data explains why Orman is being so adamant in warning her readers in their 50s that the job market is only getting tougher.