Baby boomers, with every year that you get older, do you become more and more afraid of retiring?
I don't blame you at all.
The worldwide economic slowdown epidemic that is forcing homeowners into foreclosure, halting consumer spending, driving up credit card bills and crashing stock exchanges on a global basis are seriously hurting many baby boomers' plans for retirement.
Many boomers have become very fearful of their future because they were relying on their 401Ks and IRAs for a comfortable retirement. Now, they're watching their profits freefalling downward. Many boomer investors are now seeing lots of red in their portfolios - so how can they retire?
In other words, if baby boomers aren't adding to their wealth and if their asset values are falling, their chances of a comfortable retirement are quickly diminishing.
So, what can you do?
Simply change the way you fund your retirement. Start diversifying wisely!
Two Alarming Reports That Should Convince All Baby Boomers to Change the Way They Invest in Their Retirement Plans
- A recent S&P report, which calls Americans "dangerously unprepared for retirement," notes that the poor performance of asset markets in recent years is hitting the piggy banks of even those most primed for retirement. The S&P 500 Index, for example, is on track to have its worst decade performance since the Great Depression!
- In an AARP survey, fifty percent of the respondents said the value of their 401(k) accounts and other investments had dropped over the past 12 months. One-quarter of retirees said their golden-years income had fallen in tandem with interest rates.
How You Should Invest in Your IRAs and 401Ks If You Want to Avoid Retiring Poor
You should fund your Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401Ks with physical gold and silver. Yet very few investors are aware of this fact.
Here's why you should diversify your retirement portfolio with precious metals:
- Precious metals are exempt from all capital gains taxes, so if your investments perform well over a long period of time, it can result in huge savings.
- Precious metals normally rise during periods of unsettling events such as wars, terrorism, inflation, deflation, downturns in the stock market and the US dollar.
- Precious metals usually yield large profits in no matter the circumstances.
What Makes Investing in Gold and Silver Unique
When you invest in gold and silver you can take physical possession of the actual gold or silver when you make your withdrawals. That's correct! You can cash out in real honest-to-goodness gold and silver instead of fiat dollars. This is the most important feature of all. Down the road, in this generational bull market in gold and silver, the odds are in your favor that you will want and need the physicals when it's time to access your investment.
How to Get Started in Investing in Gold and Silver in Your IRAs and 401Ks
Once you decide that you want to include precious metals in your retirement planning, you need to determine how much you want to invest.
How much you invest depends on:
- Your annual contribution
- Your personal goals
- Your individual investment philosophy
Three other factors to consider are:
- Your age
- Total assets
- Risk tolerance
Very few institutions are set up to handle the precious metals component of retirement plans. One of the leaders in the field that I personally recommend using is GoldStar Trust Company. They serve as custodian for approximately 20,000 self-directed IRAs with assets in excess of $700 million. One thing to note is that GoldStar is not a coin dealer, but it will work with dealers who buy and sell precious metal coins and bullion for your IRA on your instructions.
Setting up a self-directed IRA with a company like GoldStar is easy. And, there are only three steps to follow:
1. Submit the paperwork.
2. Fund the account.
3. Direct your broker which precious metals to buy.
So, start investing in gold. Start investing in silver. And start investing in other precious metals unless you want to continue having to drink a bottle of Maalox every night because you're so afraid of the future. Follow my advice in this article, in my book "Get the Skinny on Silver Investing" and on my website, http://www.silver-investor.com and you will retire comfortably without fear.
