Is AI the Answer for Mass-Market Retirement Advice?

Savers with significant assets can get great retirement advice, but those of lesser means are often left out.

April 3, 2026Updated 14 hours ago

Sick of reading about AI’s potential to remake the world of wealth management? Buckle up, ’cause we’re just getting started.

Much ink has been spilled about the entrance of artificial intelligence tools into the wealth management industry. Thus far, the dialogue has focused on AI-powered services desired by wealthy clients and prospects, especially tax management and estate planning. Less attention has been paid, though, to another important use case: the potential for the technology to deliver tailored retirement income planning for the mass market. At least one such platform is already up and running, representing both a new potential partner and a source of competition for advisors.

“There is a giant supply-demand mismatch for retirement advice in this country,” said Steve Chen, founder and CEO of Boldin, a financial planning platform used by more than 500,000 active retirement savers. “More than 11,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day, and many of them don’t have the assets it takes to work with a traditional advisor. We believe AI is the answer.”

A Willing Market

More than 40% of Americans are already using AI to help with their personal finances, according to a First National Bank of Omaha study. But the responses that the models provide aren’t foolproof, especially for retirees, as platforms like ChatGPT answer in generalizations or from limited data sets. Boldin’s AI tools take a different approach, Chen said, utilizing an individual’s data to solve retirement planning questions like when to claim Social Security or how to utilize home equity to plug spending gaps.

“The platform provides sophisticated planning for these people, who pay us a small monthly fee to utilize it,” Chen said. “We also have an option for people to pay a one-time flat planning fee to work with a CFP to review their plan, so it’s a kind of spectrum of advice that we are delivering. Advisors can use the platform, as well, to expand their toolkit.”

For their part, financial advisors are open to using AI to upscale and improve their services, per a recent Advisor360 survey:

The vast majority of advisors (90%) are interested in using AI to expand offerings, including in tax planning, model creation and retirement income planning.
An even greater proportion of clients (92%) expect multi-faceted planning beyond investment selection.

A Note of Caution. Wealth Script Advisors in San Francisco is among the many firms exploring ways to utilize AI, according to founder and CEO Alex Caswell, including for retirement planning. But it is doing so cautiously.

“The biggest challenge we find is using various AI tools without disclosing clients’ personal information,” he said. “This often requires reviewing their documents to strip sensitive information. The other challenge is testing the assumptions AI used to get to an answer.”

Ross Cutler, founder of King Tide Advisors in Palm Beach, Florida, agreed. “Financial planners still need to review the output, make adjustments as needed, and confirm the information reflects the client’s real situation,” Cutler said. “AI is especially helpful for common planning scenarios, but every client’s situation is unique. It includes behavioral and emotional factors that AI doesn’t capture.”