The claim that most people’s retirement savings are ‘100% paper assets’ is pointing at something real: a typical 401(k) or IRA holds stocks, bonds, and mutual funds – financial claims on companies and governments – rather than any physical asset. That’s an accurate description of a conventional portfolio, not an exaggeration.

Whether that’s a problem depends on what you’re trying to guard against. Paper assets carry counterparty and market risk but have also been the primary long-term wealth-building tool for retirement savers historically, since stocks in particular have generated real returns over long periods that physical assets like gold, which pays no income, generally have not matched.

Adding a modest allocation to a physical asset like gold (commonly cited in the 5-15% range) is a reasonable diversification step for investors who want it – not a sign that an all-paper portfolio is inherently broken, and not a reason to abandon stocks and bonds as the core of a retirement plan.