Women Face Higher Risks of Missing Retirement Goals Amid Trump's Tariff-induced Market Turmoil

Women have retirement account balances 30% lower than men but at the same time live longer than them, according to BlackRock research. Lower earnings and caregiving responsibilities make it difficult for women to save for retirement.

The gender pay gap also impacts the ability of women to save adequately. Women earn 83 cents for every dollar earned by men.

'Women, especially women of colour and those facing multiple forms of marginalisation, tend to have lower incomes because of pay discrimination, occupational segregation and overrepresentation in the low-paid work,' National Women's Law Center's Amy Matsui said. 'They also tend to spend more time out of the workforce because of caregiving, make up a larger share of single-parent households and are more likely to work part-time.'

Matsui added that women are overrepresented in the 40 lowest-paid jobs, which offer minimum benefits and have little scope for pay hikes. This inequality renders millions of women financially underprepared for retirement despite years of hard work.

Higher Tariffs Wipe out Retirement Accounts

Financial insecurity in retirement for women is further exacerbated by the US stock market upheaval triggered by US President Donald Trump's tariff play and drastic changes within the federal government. His aggressive policies wiped out trillions of dollars from Americans' retirement accounts, according to economists, making financial planning more difficult compared to earlier recessions.

'It could be worse than COVID, worse than Lehman Brothers because there is no bond offset,' said author Laurence McDonald, in a video posted on X. 'What's happening today is we've lost about 9 trillion dollars in American wealth in 401(K)s. If you look back to COVID and Lehman, investors lost about 8 trillion dollars, but they made back £2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) on the bond side.'

Brewing uncertainty over the US economy's future, as the Trump Administration threatens to withhold government benefits and garnish wages for millions behind on student loans, adds to the existing financial challenges for women.

'I'm worried about Social Security, too, because nobody can predict what the president is going to do,' a partially retired Wisconsin resident, Julie, told Salon. 'I'm having a meeting with my financial adviser in about two weeks. I can't wait to meet with him to find out what I should do.'

An Employee Research Benefit Institute survey revealed that 40% of women aren't confident that their financials are on track to meet retirement goals, while 71% believe retirement planning causes immense stress.

'When women have lower account balances (and less wealth overall), they are more vulnerable when the value of their investment drops — more so, the closer they are to retirement,' said Matsui.

Higher Consumer Prices Make More Women Financially Vulnerable

Foreign investors offloading US debt and weakening confidence in US assets were amplified after concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve emerged on Trump's threats to fire the central bank chairman, Jerome Powell.

While low wages and investment losses impact women more relative to men, forecasts for higher inflation and rising consumer prices could also put further pressure on already stretched household budgets. Market experts believe the US central bank's independence is strongly linked to inflation, and any threats to its autonomy could negatively impact inflation trends.