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By Hugh Cameron
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Gen Z Americans are expressing fears that their saving habits and wealth-building potential—though supposedly in better shape than older generations—may prove ineffective and be undercut by the rise of artificial intelligence.
In addition to—and because of—the tech’s impact on employment prospects and the economy at large, many believe it will prove a major drag on young Americans’ ability to build significant wealth.
According to a report from TIAA in October, AI is now “adding a new layer of uncertainty to retirement readiness,” alongside the harsh economic climate defined by rising costs and the fact that Americans are living longer. Of those surveyed, 40 percent said they consider AI in the workplace a threat to their retirement plans, a figure which rises to 51 percent among those in the Gen Z bracket.
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The economist Teresa Ghilarducci, an expert in retirement security, told Newsweek that AI could “help or hurt” this generation's ability to save for a comfortable retirement, based on how companies and the workers themselves choose to wield it, and whether it becomes the net drag on employment that some fear or a useful tool for young savers.
What Age Is Gen Z Starting To Build Wealth?
Compared to older generations, Gen Z appears more capable when it comes to building up future financial security.
According to a 2025 report from Northwestern Mutual, Gen Zers who work with a financial adviser began doing so at 23, compared with 30 for millennials and over two decades before the average age—49—of those who did so in the Boomer generation or older.
A U.S. Bank survey fielded June 15 to July 1 among 5,000 American adults also revealed that Gen Z was leading the country in “rewriting [the] rules of wealth building.”
Younger Americans are building wealth earlier on average—at 19—compared with 25 for Millennials and 29 for those in the Gen X group.
But they are also more inclined to stray from or abandon their wealth-building strategy amid financial pressures. Gen Z continues to have long-term financial goals like homeownership, but 29 percent say debt has “affected their plans" for achieving these, more than any other generation.
"Many younger Americans aren't abandoning traditional financial goals—they're adapting how they pursue them," according to Scott Ford, president of U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
"They're starting earlier, actively seeking information and exploring multiple ways to build wealth, with families increasingly providing support for major financial milestones along the way," he added.
How AI Could Disrupt Wealth-Building
“AI will help if AI complements workers’ skills,” said Ghilarducci.
“I am impressed that compared to older cohorts, Gen Z has high levels of educational attainment and digital fluency which may help them use AI to raise their productivity, job value, and earnings,” she told Newsweek. “But if employers use AI mainly to surveil workers, intensify work, or substitute for labor, the gains may flow to capital while wages stagnate, as they have for many workers over recent decades.
And the main threat to wealth-building appears to stem from AI’s impact on the workforce.
Of those surveyed by TIAA, a third of the overall group of respondents said they were either very concerned (14 percent) or extremely concerned (19 percent) that AI could “disrupt your career or reduce your earning potential before you are able to retire comfortably.”
A Senate report last year found that 100 million American jobs could be at risk from automation and artificial intelligence. The latest monthly layoff estimates from the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas suggested that AI is increasingly proving a major employment threat. As of October, it has been referenced in 121,401 job cut announcements, around 20 percent of all that have occurred this year, and remains the second most cited reason in 2026 behind economic conditions with 130,531.
“Starting to save early matters because contributions have time to compound,” Ghilarducci noted. “If AI disrupts early-career jobs or slows earnings growth, it can reduce both contributions and the time those savings have to grow.”
But this remains forward-looking, and some are skeptical that AI will result in the employment wipeout currently being forecast.
“Right now AI looms large as technology that can automate workflows and replace workers, but it often seems like it is being used as a convenient boogey-man that CEOs use to justify the cuts they want to make to increase shareholder value,” Kate Fortmueller, an associate professor at Georgia State University and an expert in the film and television labor landscape, told Newsweek.
And Ghilarducci said that it may be the “differences within a generation” that matter more between generations, given the disparities in job opportunities and other career barriers facing different parts of the Gen Z cohorts.
“AI may also help people make basic retirement decisions by making it easier to compare savings and investment scenarios,” she explained. “That can be a useful starting point for deciding how much to save and where to invest.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Federica Bindi and Cristina Diciu.
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