The newest investment strategy is the gold 401k
rollovers. The first thing to remember
about a 401k plan, is that the gold cannot be physically in your
possession.
The first rule of buying gold, is that you take possession
of it. If you can’t touch it, you do not own it. Gold is not a retirement plan; it is a hedge
against a country ruining its currency.
If your currency is stable, you can buy gold with no
problem. If it is unstable, gold will not be available for purchase at any
reasonably price.
The big thing about retirement as you age, is that it creeps
up on you slowly. Your concepts have to change as you age. Gold as a hedge against inflation at age 40
with a life expectancy of 80 is different than if you are 78 wondering if
you’ll live to see 98.
If you are young, gold is probably a better investment than a 401k. The problem is, most people cannot save for
retirement at a young age, they will spend it.
The 401k keeps them from spending it; but that is what the government
wants. They can borrow your hard dollars today for inflated dollars 40 years
later. 50 years ago, cigarettes were 25
cents a pack, now they are $8.50. So,
to save for retirement if you are young, with this systemic inflation, get ahead of the curve and buy gold.
I digress, a 401k gold IRA will have costs: the gold purchase commission, insurance and
storage fees. On top of that, suppose
you sell the gold at a higher price? Get
ready, you have a 1099 for appreciation, coming your way at tax time.
Another thing not mentioned, is the integrity of the company
offering the gold IRA. In Europe a while
back the gold depository couldn’t pay the depositors in gold, they didn’t have
it. They paid them in cash. Most of
these investment firms can buy an amount of gold that covers withdrawals. The
rest is invested for financial return.
The thing you need to realize about a 401k fund is that they
don’t have to invest your funds as designate. They do have to pay on
your investment as it would have performed. If you have one, how
do they deliver the gold bullion to you? Think about that!
Figure that you have 400k in your 401k. In the last 5 years, its buying power has
dropped to 200k. That is kind of
upsetting. What I can buy cost twice as much and it is still locked into the
401K. Technically you still have 400k to
retire on. If you had put it in gold 10
years ago, you’d still have the same amount of gold, but its price has doubled.
You cannot walk out of a 401K you are stuck with it; you can’t sell it all at
one time and get out of it, without horrendous tax consequences.
We are not talking about investment here; we are talking about government-initiated
inflation. Inflation is a tax by
government. The government cannot tax people who have no money, they can only
tax people who have savings. They can directly tax your savings or indirectly
print dollars that make your savings worth less. My 400K retirement now has the
buying power of 200K today. Kind of sucks, doesn’t it?
To preserve your savings, you need to liquidate your 401k in
reasonable increments, and buy gold or platinum.
Remember one thing when the government runs out of money,
they have only one place to go to, the people that have saved money. If you
have no money, the government doesn’t give a damn about you.
Gold, Silver and Platinum maintain value. Right now, everyone is interested in a gold
IRA. Figure this though, an investment in
platinum is just as good as gold and it is half its price, and four
times rarer. Hmmm ---of course the
obvious escapes most of us, go figure!
