Can You Fund an IRA With Gold?
Gold investing can add diversification and growth potential to any retirement portfolio, but there can be risks involved. Working with an investment professional is ideal to maximize potential growth.
Before moving forward with any action, familiarize yourself with all of the fees associated with opening a gold IRA. These costs include initial setup charges, ongoing account maintenance fees, seller markup costs, storage and insurance costs – just to name some of them!
Taxes
As part of their original rules in 1974, when Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) were first allowed, collectible investments were prohibited to minimize risk-taking speculation. Following a 2007 letter ruling by the IRS, however, physical gold that meets certain criteria such as being predominantly bullion (not coins or proofs) and 99.5% pure could now be invested in through an IRA company.
These investments are taxed as any other IRA assets when you take distributions, however due to being non-liquid they may require selling when cash is needed and incurring taxes upon sale.
Last, these assets typically don’t produce significant returns due to no dividend payments. Therefore, investors should prepare to hold onto them for an extended period of time by employing a “buy and hold” strategy. In addition, you’ll need to account for account fees and storage fees imposed by different financial institutions which could vary, sometimes higher than usual IRA fees.
Fees
Gold IRAs may be more costly than traditional retirement accounts due to higher associated fees such as setup, transaction and custodial fees. Furthermore, physical assets must be stored at an IRS-approved depository and insured against loss.
Gold investments differ from stocks and bonds in that it does not generate any income, making it harder to find buyers when you want to close an account or take required minimum distributions (RMDs). Therefore, liquidating gold investments may prove costly.
Reputable precious metals companies typically offer buyback programs that allow you to sell back precious metal at current market prices without incurring additional fees, alleviating liquidity concerns. It’s also wise to find an organization known for excellent customer service – this will help prevent scams or any unsavory companies.
Withdrawals
Gold has long been considered a safe haven in times of economic instability, serving as both jewelry and industrial uses. Yet as an investment vehicle, it comes with several drawbacks that make liquidating hard; dividends don’t accrue and special storage requirements must be met; furthermore it doesn’t trade like stocks, bonds and mutual funds do.
When investing in a gold IRA, ensure it offers transparent pricing and does not charge additional fees such as storage or transaction charges. In addition, choose an institution with a proven history of customer service excellence.
Importantly, moving funds from your traditional or Roth IRA into a gold IRA follows similar processes to moving them from any other retirement account. You typically submit an application online or on paper and both custodians communicate to complete the transfer of your money.
Investing
Gold IRAs provide investors with an alternative form of investing that involves physical precious metals such as bullion and coins versus other forms which rely on derivative investments like exchange-traded funds (ETF) or mutual funds as the investment vehicle.
Gold has historically provided investors with protection from inflation; however, as with any investment portfolio it’s wise to diversify to help avoid market downturns or economic crises.
To do this, a self-directed gold IRA offers you the ability to invest directly in precious metals without incurring custodian fees. However, this account requires extensive paperwork and incurs extra costs, such as one-time setup fee as well as transaction and asset fees annually. Furthermore, gold must be stored safely within a secure facility and this may incur storage fees – so before making your decision be sure to consult your legal, tax, and financial advisors first.
Categorised in: Blog