Investing in gold, an alternative in Europe to pension plans

Goldex Team

Editorial content

For a long time, gold has been regarded as a symbol of wealth and prosperity due to its preservation of value. Gold is very useful in supporting a collapsing currency and especially in countries where people have lost faith in paper currency.

The problem

In Europe, we have witnessed economies that once were huge crumble down and the currencies debased. No one can accurately predict how the economy will be tomorrow.  However, you can protect your wealth and enjoy your life after retirement without necessarily depending on pensions.

In the UK, pension schemes are deeply in deficit leading to a big drop in living standards to retirees and that’s not all. Most retirees in the UK who do not plan for their financial future end up depending on charities to survive. European nations such as France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Spain are Pay-as-you-go countries (PAYG). This means that they saved nothing for future pension obligations and the money has to come out of the general budget each year.

The crisis of the countries mentioned above is quite predictable due to the increasing number of retirees every year and the falling number of workers paying into the national coffers. Countries such as Spain and Greece were hit hard by a financial crisis which also led to the national pension plan having a surplus. The governments chose to borrow some of that surplus for other purposes which will soon turn into a sizeable deficit.

The purchase of gold as an investment towards retirement is a growing trend in Europe as an alternative to pension plans. Physical gold offers greater security against other forms of investment in the stock markets since it is backed by a tangible product.

The purchase of this metal as an investment is exempt from VAT and offers greater flexibility since it does not place temporary limits on the withdrawal of money.

The crisis is not purely as a result of politics (though it might be a huge contributor). Retirement problems are far bigger than even the most disciplined, future-focused governments and businesses can handle.

Investing in gold will help you have stress-free financial life in Europe. Here is why.

invest in gold

Inflation hedge

Gold is an excellent hedge against inflation and economic crisis. As the saying goes, history repeats itself. If you were to study the years where inflation was at its peak, you will realize that gold always outperforms other investment instruments which, at the time, lose their value rapidly.

This aspect of gold tends to encourage investors to invest in gold during financial uncertainty. Gold prices often rise when the confidence in governments is low, unlike pensions which certainly lose their value together with the falling currency value.

Retaining value

The most important reason why you should invest in gold is that it performs admirably in holding its value over the long term, unlike currencies or stocks which often lose their value over time.

Scarcity

The general rule is that the scarcer a commodity is, the higher its value. This is true for gold due to the fact that production of new gold mines has been declining since we entered a new millennium.

Due to the high demand and low supply, gold prices will always be high. Since gold retains its value and increases in price over time, you should invest in gold today. Investing in a scarce commodity such as gold is the key to a stable and successful financial life especially after retirement. 

 

 

Important disclaimer: this document is not an official research report and the views expressed in it are those of the authors. The authors are not registered research analysts and there is no assurance the trends mentioned will continue or that the forecasts discussed will be realised. Gold as a commodity is not a specified investment for the purpose of giving advice under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, therefore, this it does not give rise to rights to claim compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.