Americans nearing retirement and recent retirees said they were anxious and frustrated following a second day of market turmoil that hit their 401(k)s after President Donald Trump\u2019s escalation of tariffs.<\/p>\n
As the impending tariffs <\/strong>shook the global economy Friday, people who were planning on their retirement accounts to carry them through their golden years said the economic chaos was hitting too close to home.<\/p>\n Some said they are pausing big-ticket purchases and reconsidering home renovations, while others said they fear their quality of life will be adversely affected by all the turmoil.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just kind of stunned, and with so much money in the market, we just sort of have to hope we have enough time to recover,\u201d said Paula, 68, a former occupational health professional in New Jersey who retired three years ago.<\/p>\n Paula, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared retaliation for speaking out against Trump administration policies, said she was worried about what lies ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve been doing is trying to enjoy the time that we have, but you want to be able to make it last,\u201d Paula said Friday. \u201cI have no confidence here.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump fulfilled his campaign promise this week to unleash sweeping tariffs, including on the United States\u2019 largest trading partners, in a move that has sparked fears of a global trade war. The decision sent the stock market spinning. On Friday afternoon, the broad-based S&P 500 closed down 6%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 5.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 2,200 points, or about 5.5%.<\/p>\n As Wall Street reeled Friday after China hit back with tariffs against the U.S., millions of Americans with 401(k)s watched their retirement funds diminish along with the stock market.<\/p>\n \u201cI looked at my 401(k) this morning and in the last two days that\u2019s lost $58,000. That\u2019s stressful,\u201d said Victor Fettes, 54, of Georgia, who retired last week as a senior director of risk management and compliance at Verizon. \u201cIf that continues, I can\u2019t stay retired.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has said the tariffs will force businesses to relocate manufacturing and production back to the U.S. and bring back jobs. Some investors and business groups have pushed back, saying they are likely to lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers.<\/p>\n \u201cOur country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,\u201d Trump said recently. \u201cBut it is not going to happen anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n The president has acknowledged the potential pain coming to some Americans\u2019 wallets, but he continues to staunchly defend his agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cMY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,\u201d he posted to social media Friday. Later, he wrote, \u201cONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s tariffs are steeper and more widespread than any in modern American history. They are potentially even broader than the tariffs of 1930 that historians said worsened the Great Depression.<\/p>\n Some Americans thinking about retirement told NBC News they feel their economic stability is being played with.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to have to worry that everyone is constantly changing my financial reality,\u201d said Alison Carey, 64, of Oregon, a freelancer in the theater industry. \u201cLet the economy do its machinations, but don\u2019t put me in the gears.\u201d<\/p>\n Paula said she and other older Americans are living with \u201canxiety about something where you don\u2019t really know what\u2019s going to happen. You can\u2019t do anything though.\u201d<\/p>\n She and her husband have <\/strong>decided to pause and reduce spending on big-ticket items. They are reconsidering vacations and home renovations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t change anything right now, except our spending,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m sure there are consumers across the board that want to be cautious, too. Then it becomes a vicious cycle. Consumer confidence goes down.\u201d<\/p>\n One in five Americans age 50 and over have no retirement savings, and more than half, 61%, are worried they will not have enough money to support them in retirement, according to a survey published by the AARP last April.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes you realize how out of touch the current administration is with regular people,\u201d said Benajah Cobb, 63, Carey\u2019s husband, who also works in the theater industry.<\/p>\n He said he hoped the last few days of stock market turmoil would motivate lawmakers to put more checks and balances on the president.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s happening so quickly. Things are falling apart so quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping Congress will try to step up a bit, the Republicans in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n Fettes said he has been calling his representatives about the tariffs and other issues \u201cto make sure that as a constituent, our voices are being heard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe firmly in our family that a democracy is a participatory game, and so we want to make sure that our representatives understand where we\u2019re at and what we would like for them to do to represent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Paula said that as she and her husband continue to monitor their retirement accounts, their biggest fear is how Trump\u2019s policies could impact the quality of the rest of their lives \u2014 and when their funds will run out.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my big worry, when is that shortfall going to happen now?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Americans nearing retirement and recent retirees said they were anxious and frustrated following a second day of market turmoil that hit their<\/p>\n