President Donald Trump‘s second-term tariff strategy is creating new financial pressure for millions of Americans—and raising alarm among those planning for retirement.
As sweeping new duties on imported goods take effect, many are watching their portfolios react with volatility, prompting concern that trade policy may undercut long-term savings.
Why It Matters
Trump’s latest tariff initiative, announced in early April, includes a baseline 10 percent duty on all imports, with sharply higher rates on goods from more than 60 countries.
These sweeping changes have fueled rapid market sell-offs and renewed fears of a global slowdown—conditions that could directly erode retirement assets held in stocks, mutual funds, and employer-sponsored plans.
The administration pausing parts of its reciprocal tariff policy helped calm the markets but, households are still responding as if further economic pain is imminent.
What To Know
With Americans already grappling with high living costs, the added uncertainty from trade tensions is shifting how they spend, save and plan for the future.
Roughly 34 percent of U.S. adults say they are worried tariffs could negatively impact investments in their retirement accounts, according to a new survey from NerdWallet. That apprehension is part of a broader surge in financial stress driven by inflation, market instability and evolving economic policy.
The survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults found that 85 percent were concerned about tariffs, with many citing fears about recession and affordability of basic goods.
A CNBC/SurveyMonkey poll conducted April 3-7 found that 66 percent of Americans worry tariffs will hurt their personal financial situation, with 34 percent already adjusting their investments as a result. The survey 45 percent of Americans plan to reduce spending on non-essentials, and 30 percent are increasing emergency fund contributions,
Estimates from Yale University’s Budget Lab suggest the average household could see $3,800 in added annual costs as a result of the new tariffs.
What People Are Saying
Drew Powers, the founder of Illinois-based Powers Financial Group, told Newsweek: “It is not at all surprising that 34 percent of Americans are concerned about their retirement as we have seen an incredible amount of volatility in the past two months. At one point, the S&P500 was down nearly 20 percent in just 6 weeks—that’s a lot for the everyday investor to grapple with.”
“But it is also a good sign that 66% of Americans are not concerned. I believe the 66% recognize the markets overreact to both good and bad news, and they see this as a momentary backslide.”
Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: “For retirement accounts, the impact is twofold: account values have suffered, and higher prices at the grocery store and beyond are adding external pressure through inflation.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “While no one likes to stoke the fears of Americans approaching or already enjoying retirement, it’s hard to not to present the potential hazards tariffs could generate for the economy. Simply put, we’re in largely uncharted waters. It’s been over a century since the United States had an extensive tariff plan, and our stock market and its attachment to millions of retirement accounts were vastly different, if not non-existent, back then.”
What Happens Next
Financial planners are advising Americans to take a longer view and avoid overreacting to short-term headlines.
“Long term, this will likely just be a blip,” Thompson said. “The American economy is bigger than one man or one administration, at least for now.”
While it remains unclear how far Trump’s tariffs will extend—or how global markets will adapt—many Americans are already recalibrating their financial strategies. For those approaching retirement, the months ahead could prove decisive.
“We’ve already seen stocks rocked by the immediate implementation of the tariffs, but we still have yet to see the actual numbers behind the impact which will emerge in company earnings in the coming months,” Beene said. “Sadly, this percentage of Americans concerned could be the floor if we see tariffs hurting earnings and triggering further stock declines.”
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