This piece was written by one of our dear readers—a woman with something real to say. Each month, we handpick the best submissions for Dear Reader because we’re after that PROVOKED bite: truth, intelligence, and heart. These stories come from women our age—women who’ve lived enough to know better and still care enough to tell it anyway. Because being seen and heard matters. Because storytelling is how we stitch ourselves to one another. And because when one woman speaks her truth, another finally recognizes her own. — Susan Dabbar, Editor in Chief
As AI reshapes work and retirement, women over 50 are discovering that the experience they thought was behind them may be their greatest advantage.
Six months ago, I sat frozen at my desk, watching a 30-minute AI demo challenge 40 years of expertise.
The 20-something on my screen was showing off a new tool that could analyze and optimize complex financial planning scenarios for thousands of people within an instant. The same analysis I’d built my entire career mastering. The methodologies I’d spent decades perfecting. The wisdom I thought made me invaluable.
I’m 62. I was planning to retire at 63.
But at that moment, I realized I wasn’t planning for retirement. I was staring at professional transformation. After decades of helping others prepare for their futures, I had to reimagine my own.
That night, unable to sleep, I did something unexpected. Instead of panic-searching online for “careers for older workers,” I called my business partner—yes, at 62, I’m building a startup.
He asked me a question that reframed everything: “What if retirement itself is the obsolete concept here, and not our expertise?”
Your Three-Legged Stool Needs New Legs
Here’s what nobody’s telling you: The three-legged stool of retirement—Social Security, pensions, savings—wasn’t built for the AI revolution. Time to build something better.
AI will transform 40 percent of jobs globally. And women over 50? We’re uniquely positioned for this shift. Yes, we’ve navigated career gaps—an average of 12 years out of the workforce to raise kids and care for parents. We’ve stretched 82 cents to match a dollar. We’ve been adapting to technological change our entire careers. We went from typewriters to computers, from filing cabinets to cloud storage, from rotary phones to smartphones. AI? It’s just the next evolution.
Did you know they set 65 as retirement age in 1889 when people keeled over at 45? It was basically a “congrats on beating the odds” prize nobody collected. Now? Your career might pivot at 55, and you’ll probably rock until 95. That’s four decades of possibility.
“Just learn new skills!” chirps every career coach on LinkedIn. But here’s the real secret: We don’t need to compete with AI, we need to direct it. We’re not afraid of technology; we’re tired of being excluded from designing it.
The Edge AI Doesn’t Have
Women over 50 bring three things AI desperately needs:
Judgment from experience. AI processes data but can’t weigh human cost. Every year you’ve lived is a database no algorithm can access. Who better to question AI’s outputs than those who’ve seen enough to spot the flaws?
Relationships built over decades. In an AI world, genuine connection becomes gold. Your network isn’t just LinkedIn names. It’s trust earned through time, credibility from consistency, loyalty beyond transactions.
Creating meaning from chaos. AI optimizes; humans thrive on purpose. We don’t just want solutions; we crave significance. That’s your superpower. Who’s training these AI models? Mostly young men who’ve never navigated the complexities we have. Time to get in that room.
Three Ways to Shape Your AI-Powered Future
Forget retirement planning. Start planning your renaissance.
- Build Digital Influence
Your retirement account is important, but your digital literacy is power. Women 50+ need seats at the AI table.
This week: Pick one AI tool and master it. ChatGPT for writing. Claude for analysis. Midjourney for visuals. Start simple—ask it to help plan a dinner party or draft an email.
When I started my company, I made AI proficiency non-negotiable. Not because I needed to code, but because I needed to understand what was shaping our future.
- Create Multiple Revenue Streams Using AI as Your Assistant
Stop thinking about THE job. Think multiple income sources with AI as your amplifier. I’m simultaneously a consultant, founder, author, and advisor—and AI helps me be better at all of them.
Multiple streams mean if one shifts, you’ve got others. More importantly, you’re showing other women how to thrive, not just survive.
This week: List five ways to monetize your expertise with AI’s help. Could AI help you create an online course from your knowledge? Build a consulting framework from your expertise? The tool isn’t replacing you. It’s amplifying what only you know.
- Focus on Creation and Innovation
Retirement used to mean stopping. But what if it meant starting with superpowers? AI handles the boring stuff; we handle the meaningful stuff. Your next chapter isn’t about rest—it’s about finally doing what matters.
When I launched my startup at 62, people asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be slowing down?” I replied, “Why would I slow down when I have tools that make me 10 times more effective?”
This week: Use AI to create something that shares your wisdom. Let AI help you organize it. You bring the wisdom; AI brings the efficiency.
The Opportunity We’re Not Talking About
Here’s what I know: We’re not victims. We’re architects of what comes next. But we need to ask the hard questions: Who’s building the AI tools we’re using? Are women in those rooms? Are people over 50 represented? What biases are being coded into systems that will shape the next generation? If we’re not asking these questions, who will?
AI processes; we discern. AI optimizes; we empathize. AI generates; we create. AI answers; we question. These aren’t consolation prizes. They’re leadership qualities.
Women thriving aren’t desperately competing with AI or hiding from it. They’re learning it, questioning it, and wielding it. They recognize experience plus technology beats either alone.
My grandmother worked until she couldn’t. My mother retired at 65 and spent 20 years wondering what to do. I’m creating option three: continuous transformation, constant contribution, endless evolution—with AI as my tool, not my replacement.
The retirement promise may be dead, but what’s emerging is better: age amplifying value, wisdom trumping speed, experience guiding innovation.
The question isn’t when you’ll stop working. It’s how you’ll use these tools to do work that matters.
The game has changed.
We’re writing new rules.
Let’s revolutionize how we retire.
0 Comments