£11BN PENSION WIPEOUT

DONALD Trump's tariff trade war has wiped more than £11billion from Scottish pension funds, the Sunday Mail can reveal.

- BY DAN VEVERS

The US president sent global markets into freefall last week, slashing trillions from stockmarkets even after a partial U-turn. And our pensions were on the frontline of the carnage with experts confirming a multi-billion pound hit to the value of the nation's retirement pots.

It could leave thousands of workers having to delay retirement in the hope of a recovery, or with a dramatically reduced savings to cash in.

Meanwhile, economists fear a global recession could also be triggered by Trump's decision to slap a 145 per cent tariff of Chinese goods entering America, and 10 per cent on most other countries including the UK.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Donald Trump is an economic wrecking ball. His daft tariff plan will leave both Americans and Brits worse off.

"It's not hard to see how he managed to bankrupt casinos. Whether you're mid-career or approaching retirement, this is terrible news.

"The Prime Minister now needs to work with allies like the European Union and Canada to coordinate efforts to protect our economies and push back against Trump's bullying."

The amount the average Scot has in their pension pot varies widely depending on their age, with a median figure of £9500 for those aged 25-34, rising to £189,700 for those in the 55-64 bracket.

Analysis of ONS data suggests a typical mid-career worker in the UK saw a fall of £5968 in their pension pot in the chaos since Trump announced a sweeping tariffs regime against 90 countries, with an estimated hit of seven per cent to the typical pension investment fund.