Gen Z may be decades away from leaving the workforce but the youngest cohort of American workers already ranks as the most anxious about artificial intelligence derailing its financial future.

Some 51% of Gen now believe AI is threatening their ability to save for retirement—11 percentage points above the national average—according to a new TIAA survey focused on "Retirement in the Age of AI and GLP-1s". TIAA is one of the country's largest retirement-focused financial services organizations, and the "GLP-1s" in the survey's title refers to the class of medications best known for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Much of that anxiety centers on how the technology could affect careers and earning power. Some 42% of the youngest workers say they are "extremely" or "very" concerned that AI could disrupt their career or reduce their earning potential before they reach retirement, compared with 33% of millennials and 28% of both Gen Xers and baby boomers. The skew reflects a simple reality of timing: as the newest entrants to the workforce, Gen Zers have the longest careers still ahead of them—and with them, the most years of exposure to whatever changes AI brings to jobs and pay.

The findings land amid a drumbeat of warnings from business leaders that AI will bring major disruption, including job losses. While youth unemployment has not dramatically spiked so far, executives such as TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett have cautioned that young workers who fail to adapt to the technology could find themselves at a disadvantage. How that disruption ultimately plays out for early-career workers remains an open question—and one that will shape the retirement math of a generation just starting to save.

"Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at a pace that is breathtaking," Duckett told graduates of Florida A&M University earlier this year. "The worldwide economic landscape is shifting right in front of us. Institutions that once felt permanent are being challenged and reimagined. Industries, vocations, and jobs that once seemed reliable may not be the havens they once were."

AI could help people live longer—but Gen Z fears running out of money

One of AI's biggest promises is that it could usher in a golden age of scientific discovery, helping researchers develop new treatments for cancer and other major diseases and ultimately allowing people to live longer, healthier lives. But longer lives carry a financial tradeoff: the more years people spend in retirement, the more money they need to make their 401(k)s last.

Gen Zers are already worried about that possibility. Some 59% say they fear they will withdraw too much from their retirement savings and run out of money before they die, compared with 47% of millennials and 54% of Gen Xers and baby boomers, according to TIAA. Another 47% of Gen Zers say traditional retirement planning does not sufficiently account for longer life spans.

Those worries add to the pressure on young workers to start saving early. The longer money has to compound, the more time it has to grow—and the less workers may ultimately need to set aside each year to build a sufficient nest egg.

Longer life spans could also force some workers to rethink when they retire. As people live longer, working even a few additional years gives retirement savings more time to grow while shortening the period those savings need to fund.

Duckett's advice for Gen Z: don't wait to start saving

In some respects, Gen Z's retirement anxiety could prove constructive, pushing young workers to think about their financial futures earlier than they otherwise might. But despite any angst, Duckett said, young people have more power over their futures than they may realize.

"I just want to remind this next generation, if you go back 250 years and you look at where we [America] are today, there is no better day that I want to be in than today," Duckett told Fortune earlier this year. "The future is always brighter because we get to decide."

Those decisions, she advised, should begin with the very first paycheck.

"Especially for young people, retirement seems so far away, but there's a hack," Duckett said. "The hack is, first job, first dollar.

"The first thing I tell young people is, your very first job, max out before you get the check, because once you get it, you will find ways to spend it," she added, emphasizing the "power of compounding: $1 today is worth more than $1 tomorrow…You want to make sure you take full advantage of that match."

It is advice Duckett followed herself. When she landed her first job at Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage finance company, in the 1990s, she immediately began maximizing her 401(k) contributions.

Retirement savings, however, should not come at the expense of basic financial security, she added.

"For young people, max out understanding that you have to save to invest…Max out on your retirement, have your rainy-day fund to make sure that you can afford the flat tire and all the basic things that life will give you," Duckett said. "Then you can start investing."

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.