That's correct bpilatus, IO540 is incorrect. The majority of FAA PP/CP with IR's who want to remain current legally will head out every six months to do their holds and approaches under the hood in one flight. I would say most PP/CP IR in the states don't fly in clouds very often, and at the small plane level are used to get through cloud decks more than anything else, not shooting approaches to minima. This does happen of course. Once you have the rating you are expected to use your own common sense in deciding how to use it. You have to remember that getting an IR in the States is often just rating collection, another goal to keep you interested in flying.