What is all this tariff stuff about? Your questions answered

Whether it’s pensions, mortgages, investments or the cost of everyday items, many of you have been getting in touch with Your Voice, Your BBC News to ask how the global tariffs and recent stock market turmoil may impact your personal finances.

The BBC’s Cost of Living Correspondent, Colletta Smith, has been answering your questions.

If you’re far away from retirement age, then sit tight because pensions are a long-term investment. As we have seen, a lot can change in a very short space of time so don’t panic.

If you’re getting close to retiring, your pension pot is likely to be moved to less risky investments, such as government bonds. When stock markets fall, these bonds tend to do better than traditional investments.

Pensioners with a fixed annuity should not be affected.

But if you’re currently living off a pension that has been invested, that could mean you get less than you expected because of this stock market fall.

It’s important to make a plan about how you will make up any shortfall.

Brian Waldie, 64, has been investing into a Child Trust Fund for his youngest daughter since 2007.

In the last three days, he has seen £1,500 lost from the account.

“We were trying to make our daughter’s life simple but this is money I can’t afford to lose,” he told Your Voice, Your BBC News.

If you invest directly, through a Stocks and Shares ISA or Child Trust Fund, then you will have seen some big changes over the last couple of days.

Providers should always tell you that investments can go down as well as up.

If you want more certainty, it may be worth facing up to reality and making a new financial plan.

The government has said it won’t rush into making any decisions about introducing tariffs on goods coming into the UK.

Right now, items coming from the USA may well end up costing more, but it’s also possible that products from countries that have been hit with tariffs to import into the US may just decide that it is cheaper to send their products here instead.

With cheaper foreign imports coming from countries like China, Japan and South Korea, it may push the prices down of some products here in the high street as firms compete with each other to attract customers with lower prices than rivals.

Lots of people have been asking about how the uncertainty could affect mortgages. Chris in Sussex got in touch to find out whether it could lead to a drop in interest rates.

The Bank of England is worried that businesses and consumers are getting nervous so they want to encourage people to spend and borrow more.

We had been expecting two interest rate cuts this year and it’s now predicted there will be an additional third cut.

Lenders are already pricing that into their equations and we’re seeing mortgage rates fall as a result.