A precious metals IRA or gold IRA is just an investment vehicle that you can use to save for your retirement by holding and purchasing gold coins, bullions, or any other precious metal that has been approved. You can set up this account as a Roth IRA – which can be bought with your post-tax money – or with pre-tax funds. Remember that this is a self-directed IRA and that you will use its funds to invest in hard metals. In addition, you will have to store and purchase the physical asset unlike other types of IRAs.
The Custodian
You will need a brokerage firm, a bank or other financial institution to act as a custodian. Your custodian will be in charge of managing your account. There are many companies thus its vital that you read these gold IRA custodian reviews to get a clearer picture of the pros and cons of each firm.
A gold IRA is an important investment vehicle to avoid the volatility of the stock market. You can do this by rolling over just part of the IRA that you already possess. In addition, your 401(k) or IRA can be either Roth or regular. Remember that you can roll over all or some of the investment into your gold IRA. 401(k)s tends to allow rollovers when you either retire or switch jobs. IRAs allows you to switch to any custodian freely.
Taxes
The tax man will treat your gold IRA differently depending on whether the retirement money will be funded with after-tax dollars or pre-tax dollars. 401(k)s and traditional IRAs tend to be funded with pre-tax dollars. 401(k)s and Roth IRAs can be funded with after-tax dollars. Furthermore, your gold IRAs will be either Roth or Traditional options, which is very useful. When investing in your gold IRA, you should shop around as much as you can. You will see some markups in the price of gold depending on whether you need to buy proofs, coins, bullions, etc..
Requirements
If you need to sell any gold that funds your gold IRA, you should get educated first. Why? Because you will need to know a set of requirements to do it properly. For instance, you should know about the fees related to this retirement account and how they compare with another retirement vehicle or type of IRA. You will face a seller’s fee which can vary based on data about vendor or product. An account set up will be charged too as well as custodian and storage fees.
Taking Action
Rolling over your funds to your gold IRA is a painless process that any reputable firm can help you with. Remember that your precious metals IRA or gold IRA is like any other retirement fund where you will use your money to invest only in gold. You will tend to have your account within 24 or 48 hours upon the receipt and completion of your application. The two custodians of your accounts will talk with each other just to transfer your funds to your new custodian funding your new precious metals or gold IRA. You will know about all your precious-metal options after an account representative reviews your account, which is very useful.