- June 3, 2016
- Category: Retirement
Regardless of your age, your investment focus should be on building a solid retirement account throughout the course of your working years. The most efficient way to do this is through a pre-tax retirement account, which allows you to contribute a certain amount of tax-deferred money to the account each year. But what kind of pre-tax retirement account is right for you? Read on to learn more about the most popular retirement investments:
Pension
Pensions are an employer-provided, tax-deferred investment account. Once upon a time, most every employee could expect to retire with a pension. Today, less than 20 percent of American workers have a pension plan offered by their employer. Even if you are one of the lucky ones whose employer does offer a pension, it is unlikely that it will be enough to live on after retirement. Therefore, a backup investment account is a good thing to have so you won’t have to rely solely on your company pension.
401k
A 401(k) is another type of tax-deferred retirement account that’s widely favored by American employers. Not every employer offers a 401(k) plan, but many do. A 401(k) plan makes it easy to invest, because the money is taken directly out of your paycheck before you receive it, and it is then placed in investments. Some employers offer matching, which means they actually match your investments up to a certain amount. If your employer offers matching, take advantage of it as it’s basically free money.
TSP Account
A thrift savings plan or TSP is a tax-deferred retirement plan designed for federal employees. It gives them the same investment advantages as non-government employees have with their 401(k) plan. As with 401(k) plans, contributions are deducted directly from the paycheck.
IRA
IRA stands for individual retirement account, and is a type of tax-deferred retirement account. IRAs are often a good choice for individuals whose employers do not offer a 401(k) plan. Self-employed individuals and business owners may also benefit from an IRA. These plans allow you to contribute a certain amount of tax-deferred income annually. If you go the IRA route, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t max out your contributions.
Gold IRA
The Gold IRA represents the “gold standard” when it comes to retirement investments. There are a number of reasons to choose a Gold IRA as your retirement account. Gold retains its value even in the face of currency collapse, and it has multiple uses in the real world. The versatility and usefulness of gold make it an ideal retirement investment. A Gold IRA gives you all of the advantages of an IRA backed by gold – stability, low-volatility, and a penchant for price appreciation. Gold prices have been on the rise for years, and are likely to continue going up.
Make the Switch to Gold
You can roll over your Traditional or Roth IRA into a Gold-backed IRA. Gold-backed IRAs are self-directed IRAs, which means you choose your own investments rather than depending on someone else to do it. A Gold-backed IRA gives you unparalleled control over your retirement investments and will hold its value even if the dollar were to become worthless. Gold is simply a smart investment – in virtually any economic condition.
Although the information in this commentary has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, American Bullion does not guarantee its accuracy and such information may be incomplete or condensed. The opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. American Bullion will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be used to make buy or sell decisions for any type of precious metals.