It is an interesting exercise to think of buying silver and gold as a supplementary strategy for saving or investing for retirement. My clients have often expressed confidence and delighted in the number of ounces of gold and silver they have relative to what they require to retire. However, allow me to add a preamble to this statement.
First, I am not advocating that you hold all your retirement funds and savings in precious metals. I am simply bringing your attention to the retirement value of the precious metals portion of your retirement savings. Second, I concede that retirement savings and policies are complex. Many average South Africans don’t really understand them until their retirement day when most end up disappointed about the returns and the payout. Many realize only then that they have enough to live comfortably into their seventies, perhaps, but not into their eighties.
Last, I am not a financial advisor. I am merely providing an alternative, measurable way of looking at retirement savings that is more nuanced than the traditional metrics provided by mainstream financial consultations. Every time investors acquire an ounce or two of gold in the form of a Krugerrand, they have (relative to their earnings and standards of living) bought a one-month unit of retirement. Every time an investor acquires two or three tubes of silver Krugerrands (25 coins per tube, totalling 75 silver coins), Maples, or Eagles, they have purchased over one month’s worth of retirement. What a fun way of keeping track of your future retirement prospects!
Article courtesy of Going for Gold: A guide for the South African precious metal investor by Zoltan Erdey
