Recent Survey Reveals that Over 64% of American Retirees Are Unaware that They Can Invest in Gold through an IRA

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent survey launched by Gold IRA Guide, an investment portal that explains how to invest in physical gold through a retirement account such as a 401k, IRA, TSP or SEP, shows that a vast majority of American retirees and "soon-to-be retirees" aged 55+ are unaware that they can hold physical gold as part of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161017/429243
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161017/429244

Digging deeper in the study shows that women are even more unaware than men, with over 71% of female respondents answering negatively to the survey. "The large difference between male and female vote could be explained by the fact that women are typically more conservative investors than men, and as such, they tend to not go far beyond the conventional investment options made available by their financial institution. While such an anti-risk mentality can be helpful in avoiding scams and large losses from high-risk investments, it paradoxically also makes women less likely to discover alternative investment options meant specifically for conservative investors who want to protect and diversify their portfolios such as physical gold and silver," says Chris Thomas, journalist and consultant at Gold IRA Guide.

The IRS hasn't been advertising this too loudly, but it is now allowing retirement account owners to "roll over" part of their retirement accounts to a separate Gold IRA which can hold certain high-grade physical bullion coins and bars. Gold and silver are known to perform well in times of crisis, thus making them an ideal investment to diversify and protect a "stock-heavy" portfolio. "We are not encouraging people to roll over their entire retirement accounts to gold and silver. That would be simply wrong! We are however telling people that diversification is important. Allocating a small portion of their IRA to physical metals, such as 5% or 10%, is a good way to diversify a portfolio and protect it against market fluctuations," says Thomas.

The study also reveals that retirees in the poverty bracket (income below 25k per year) are the ones who are the least aware about gold as an option. Although those in the 150k+ income range also scored high in favor of "No", the study only collected 26 answers from this sample group, thus rendering this result not statistically significant. "If we collected more responses from the 150k+ income group, I'm certain that we would have seen a result similar to the 100-150k income group, as it is well known that the wealthiest individuals are very savvy and fully aware of all their investment options."

Mr. Thomas adds: "After you digest the results of this survey, another critical question comes to mind: what else are Americans unaware about due to lack of research and due diligence? Trusting conventional investments offered by large financial institutions with something as important as your retirement or investment account is not a good sign. Everyone needs to do their own research to find out how to best protect their savings."

Full details of the study and results can be found at: http://goldiraguide.org/owning-physical-gold-through-an-ira-about-65-of-americans-dont-even-know-its-possible/

About Gold IRA Guide

Gold IRA Guide is a free service started by a team of financial and investment experts to teach American investors and retirees how to protect & diversify their IRA, 401k, TSP or other type of investment account by allocating a portion of precious metals such as gold & silver.

Media Contact:

Mark Turner
647-682-3531
Editor
Gold IRA Guide
Email
www.goldiraguide.org

SOURCE Gold IRA Guide

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http://www.goldiraguide.org