Gold IRAs may have their advantages, but these accounts also have drawbacks. Gold IRAs appeal to investors who want a diversified retirement portfolio. Gold IRAs can diversify your retirement portfolio and provide inflation protection. Just make sure you follow IRS guidelines when you open a Gold IRA
.
Given that the stock market typically rises by around 7% in an average year, it would be rare for a gold IRA to outperform other retirement investments. You’ll also need to choose a precious metals dealer who will make the actual gold purchases for your IRA (your custodian may be able to recommend one for you). During his tenure as director of the mint, according to Moy, there was little demand for gold IRAs, as it was a very complicated transaction that only the most stubborn investor was willing to carry out. A gold IRA company usually has an order desk that helps you select gold (or other precious metals) that fits your investment strategy — or at least can provide information about the gold products that
retirement savers order most frequently.
Some IRA companies guarantee to buy back the gold from you at current wholesale prices, but you could still lose money if you close the account, which is not usually the case when opening and closing regular IRAs. However, the IRS has introduced additional tax reporting and record keeping requirements for gold IRAs due to the more complicated assets they hold. Gold IRAs are very common these days, but traditional financial advisors still generally don’t provide their clients with any information about them. As with any other IRA, you can’t make early withdrawals from your Gold IRA without paying a penalty to the IRS
.
If you already have an IRA or 401 (k), either Regular or Roth, you have the option to convert some or all of your funds into a Gold IRA. Many gold IRA custodians work with specific depositories and have developed procedures that make selling and storing gold easy and secure for their customers. Once you’ve opened a self-managed gold IRA, you can transfer cash to the account to fund your purchase of physical gold. Because the gold in a gold IRA must be stored in an IRS-approved depot, you can’t store it in a safe, a home safe, or under your mattress
.
Also, make sure you carefully review all IRA specialty companies, custodian managers, and gold storage facilities that you use to implement your strategy. The real benefit of a gold IRA is combining the benefits of precious metals yourself listed above with the additional benefits that an IRA can bring. Since IRA owners are required to accept distributions when they reach 73 years of age, they could be forced to sell gold at a lower price than they would
like.
