Is silver investing too risky in retirement? Here's what experts say.

There are definite pros and cons to buying metallic erstwhile your moving days are over, experts say. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Silver saw a beauteous large run-up successful 2025, and that terms trajectory continued into 2026, with the terms of silver adjacent surpassing anterior records and climbing past the $100-per-ounce mark. However, prices person moderated a spot recently, leaving precious metallic investors wondering if metallic is inactive a astute investment. 

And, for retirees oregon seniors nearing retirement, the silver's ups and downs in terms whitethorn beryllium adjacent much concerning, arsenic there's seldom country successful people's status budgets for copious amounts of volatility. That begs the question of whether metallic is conscionable excessively risky a stake successful status these days.

Timing, goals and your wide portfolio each play a relation successful the reply to that question, but determination are important factors to see earlier buying metallic erstwhile your moving days are up. Here's what experts accidental you should deliberation astir earlier buying metallic successful retirement. 

Start diversifying your investments with metallic now.

Is metallic excessively risky to put successful during retirement? Here's what experts say.

There's nary hard and accelerated reply to that question, experts say. However, determination surely are risks to buying silver, particularly if you're entering oregon already successful retirement. Here are immoderate you mightiness privation to consider:

It doesn't nutrient income

Perhaps the biggest hazard to investing successful metallic erstwhile you're retired is that metallic doesn't nutrient income. At a clip erstwhile incoming currency is limited, similar during retirement, that tin beryllium a problem. 

"Silver is simply a non-income-producing asset," says Matthew Argyle, laminitis of Encore Retirement Planning. "Unlike stocks and bonds, it doesn't make earnings, dividends, oregon interest. It doesn't nutrient currency flow."

Instead, silver is much speculative, says Evan Mills, a fiscal advising expert astatine Scholar Advising. 

"Investing successful silver, particularly for retirees, is much of a speculative diversifier than a existent investment," Mills says. "In retirement, a batch of radical are looking for accordant and predictable currency flow, and metallic doesn't supply that."

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It's volatile

Another large risk, which has been connected show successful caller weeks, is silver's terms volatility. While it often has beardown run-ups, it besides has steep drops that tin hap quickly. 

"Silver tin transportation meaningful hazard for retirees due to the fact that of its volatility and its inclination to determination with broader markets during accent events," says Hiren Chandaria, managing manager astatine Monetary Metals. "Silver has experienced crisp corrections implicit abbreviated periods, including double-digit percent declines successful compressed timeframes. While it has delivered beardown gains successful definite cycles, that upside has historically travel with arsenic crisp drawdowns."

Just look astatine the past fewer years for impervious of silver's volatility. In mid-2024, metallic was averaging little than $30 per ounce. By January 2026, it had climbed to over $100 per ounce. Today, it's down to astir $85 per ounce.

"Metals tin beryllium precise volatile," says Chris Berkel, concern advisor and president of AXIS Financial. "In the aboriginal 80s, metallic peaked astatine $50 earlier falling to beneath $5. That's a 90% drop. If metallic trades astir $80 today, that would beryllium similar metallic falling backmost to $8 per ounce. Pretty painful."

It tin airs liquidity challenges

Silver tin besides airs problems if you need to liquidate and currency retired quickly. This is particularly existent with carnal silver. 

"The signifier of metallic you ain matters importantly erstwhile it is clip to sell," Argyle says. "Physical bullion, specified arsenic coins and bars, tin impact wider bid-ask spreads, trader markups, retention costs, and constricted resale options. In practice, galore investors find the astir convenient purchaser is the aforesaid trader they purchased from, and pricing tin vary."

For this reason, Argyle recommends having an exit plan if you privation to bargain silver, peculiarly successful retirement. Sometimes, though, adjacent that can't assistance if the timing isn't right.

"Because it's cyclical, you tin get caught connected the downturn," Mills says. "If you request to retreat from your portfolio erstwhile metallic is astatine the bottommost of a cycle, you hazard locking successful losses."

Why metallic investing could wage disconnected for retirees

Silver investing isn't constricted to risk, though. There are immoderate rewards — astatine slightest perchance — for retirees who put successful it. Here's what to cognize astir the imaginable benefits:

It tin diversify your portfolio

The biggest perk is that metallic tin diversify your portfolio, which protects you if different plus classes spell south. 

"Silver tends to behave otherwise from stocks and bonds. Assets that trim wide portfolio correlation tin amended risk-adjusted returns," Argyle says.

Silver besides exposes you to caller markets and industries, which mightiness not beryllium imaginable with different investments. Its concern request exposure, Argyle says, is peculiarly notable. 

"Silver is not conscionable a monetary metal," Argyle says. "It is wide utilized successful electronics, star panels, EV components, and aesculapian applications, and that concern relation tin enactment semipermanent demand."

It whitethorn assistance with inflation

Silver tin besides help you bushed inflation, holding its worth and protecting your wealthiness erstwhile the dollar weakens. 

"It tin enactment arsenic a hedge against ostentation and currency debasement," Chandaria says. 

Combined with the concern uses it comes with, these 2 benefits mean metallic tends to "perform good during inflationary periods oregon times of currency instability, portion besides participating successful semipermanent concern maturation trends," Chandaria says.

The bottommost line

Alternatively, investing successful gold tin beryllium a bully mode to diversify further and support against the other volatility that metallic carries. As Argyle puts it, "Retirement investing is little astir maximizing upside and much astir controlling downside. Silver tin play a role, but it works champion arsenic a complement to a diversified strategy, not arsenic its foundation."

Regularly monitoring your investments and reallocating arsenic indispensable tin assistance minimize the hazard that comes with silver, too, arsenic tin having an exit strategy. 

Finally, to mitigate the metal's hazard adjacent more, Mills recommends keeping your metallic allocation to the "single-digits, percentage-wise." Argyle says nary much than 2 to 5% is best.

"The champion mode to temper risks of immoderate concern is to size it appropriately truthful that it is not the process that wags the dog," Berkel says. 

Edited by Angelica Leicht