'We don't have trust': Expert warns Trump may fundamentally alter  'retirement picture'
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order on tariffs on aluminum imports in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque//File Photo

Game-changing questions revolving around how Americans save for retirement are beginning to emerge as President Donald Trump’s economic policies become a reality, according to business expert Rana Foroohar.

The glum predictions raised by Foroohar, CNN’s global economic analyst and associate editor at the Financial Times, came Wednesday as Trump’s tariff plan came into effect – albeit with a delay on auto tariffs.

“It just doesn't make any sense,” Foroohar said in an appearance on CNN. “And it seems like some kind of a power play that nobody can make sense of.”

But however undecipherable Trump’s actions are, they come with real consequences, the business analyst added. She noted that money managers and pension funds operators she’s spoken to aren’t pleased with the president’s economic strategies.

“[They] are saying, okay, wait a minute… ‘first of all, we don't know what's going to happen from day to day. We don't have trust,’” Foroohar said. “We're starting to think about should we actually fundamentally rethink the assumptions – frankly, since the 1980s – that you put your money in an index fund, you keep it mostly in the U.S. asset markets.

ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight

She then dropped a bombshell.

“Do we need to look more broadly? Do we need to change the entire retirement picture in the U.S.? Big, big questions here.”

Foroohar said Trump’s tariffs won't just affect retirement funds, but will also slow homebuilding in America and “hurt farmers in red states” due to retaliation from China.

And she cautioned that it’s hard to understand “what victory looks like, particularly when it comes to Canada and Mexico” under Trump’s plan.

“I mean, what concessions are we really looking for?"

Watch the clip below or at this link: