Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT can be a resource for retirement planning questions, but it doesn’t replace the advice of a human financial advisor.
- When using ChatGPT for research, be sure to verify the sources of information that ChatGPT uses to answer your question.
- Take your ChatGPT answers with you as you discuss your in-depth retirement plans with a human financial advisor.
ChatGPT is ready for your retirement planning questions. It can provide answers on subjects such as deciding when to collect Social Security, estimating medical costs, and choosing which retirement accounts to tap first to minimize taxes.
But should you trust artificial intelligence (AI) with your retirement planning? Here’s what financial experts say.
ChatGPT Can Lack Critical Thinking
First off, ChatGPT doesn’t use critical thinking. For that, you’ll need a human financial advisor.
“Remember that AI doesn’t currently think critically or form new ideas. It finds existing ideas and connects them,” said Robert Persichitte, a certified financial planner (CFP) with Delagify Financial. “This can be useful if you don’t have the time to do the research, but it won’t invent anything that someone hasn’t already written about. I like to think of it as a fancy Google.”
Because it lacks critical thinking, ChatGPT is unable to distinguish between good and bad ideas.
“Oftentimes, it lacks discernment. That means it will copy ideas from any source, including those that try to rip you off, offer outdated advice, or provide an incomplete picture,” Persichitte said.
It Can Be Helpful For Learning About Financial Concepts
But ChatGPT can be a way to familiarize yourself with financial concepts that you’ll need to understand as you retire.
“ChatGPT can be a great tool for explaining retirement concepts or helping you understand your options, but it’s not the whole toolbox. It can’t anticipate human behavior, emotion, or life’s curveballs,” said Stephan Shipe, a CFP and founder of Scholar Financial Advising.
Consider the Reliability of the Sources It Uses
If using ChatGPT, make sure to review the sources ChatGPT is using to answer your retirement questions.
“Read through its cited sources and conduct research, just as you would if a stranger recommended investment advice,” Persichitte said.
Some more advanced AI models can do pretty comprehensive research, and they can provide links to recent news articles, so you’ll be able to see just where the information is coming from.
Try Taking Its Advice to a Human Financial Advisor
Take the retirement advice from ChatGPT with you to a human financial advisor.
“There’s no question that AI can be a powerful tool for retirement planning. It’s a great resource for learning and working alongside your advisor. I’ve even had clients come in after using ChatGPT to prep questions or understand key concepts—which I think is fantastic,” said Luke Harder, a certified financial planner with Claro Advisors.
But solely relying on ChatGPT answers for retirement advice is not a good idea.
“AI isn’t perfect, and when it comes to retirement, the stakes are too high to rely on it blindly. It doesn’t know your full financial picture: your portfolio composition, tax situation, or how you personally handle market volatility,” Harder said.
You can input all of your investment portfolio and your tax information into ChatGPT, but it can be risky—the information you enter is often used as LLM training data and could be subject to hacking and data breaches.
A human advisor is also better equipped to understand your emotions if the market plunges and you’re tempted to sell your investments. They can advise you to hold off selling.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, using ChatGPT to answer your retirement questions can be a good way to begin your research. You can use it to quickly learn about financial topics that are important for retirement planning. But relying on ChatGPT for all your retirement questions may not be wise. A better step would be to take what you learned from ChatGPT and consult a human financial advisor about the details and nuances of your specific retirement plans.
