Gold IRAs have higher maintenance fees than other types of IRAs, which is due to the additional costs associated with investing in gold. In addition to brokerage fees and account setup fees, the investor must pay additional costs to store and insure the precious metal. Rules against holding collectibles Tax legislation prohibits IRA holders from investing in life insurance, S corporation stocks, or collectibles. Some types of gold coins are classed as collectibles and would break the rules
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What’s confusing and frustrating is that some gold coins and gold bars are allowed, but others aren’t. And it’s not like the IRS keeps a master list of what’s allowed and what isn’t. Unfortunately, because the Gold IRA industry is unregulated, it is well known that some Gold IRA companies use questionable tactics to pressure potential customers. You can set up the SDIRA either as a traditional IRA (tax-deductible contributions) or as a Roth IRA (
tax-free distributions).
Of course, depositories don’t work for free, and you’ll have to pay storage and management fees for your Gold IRA. Buying a gold IRA should be part of your comprehensive financial strategy for retirement (or outside of a retirement account), which you’ve carefully formulated yourself with the help of your own financial professionals. It’s not too complicated, but there are a few key hurdles you’ll need to overcome when it comes to setting up a Gold IRA account. Remember that not every self-managed IRA custodian offers the same investment options. So make sure that physical gold is among their offerings before you open an account
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Some Gold IRA providers (“Gold IRA Companies”) offer promotions that cover some or all fees. However, you should always find out what the fees are and under what circumstances you must pay them yourself. For this reason, those planning for the future could look at the pros and cons of gold IRAs and other new investment opportunities. Also, make sure you carefully review all IRA specialty companies, custodian managers, and gold storage facilities that you use to implement your strategy. While IRAs are accessible from age 59 and six months, once retirees reach 70 years and six months of age, they must withdraw a specific amount from their IRA each year
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Thankfully, there are no limits on how much you can transfer from another IRA to your precious metals IRA. If you’ve already saved money from your employer in a standard IRA, you can easily transfer it to a precious metals IRA with the help of a precious metals IRA provider. 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. Costs of buying and storing gold Once you’ve chosen a specialized, self-managed IRA gold custodian, you need to remember that there are fees for all aspects of buying, storing, and selling the
gold.
As with any other IRA, you can’t make early withdrawals from your Gold IRA without paying a penalty to the IRS. Physical gold wasn’t always an investment option for retirement savers who wanted to benefit from an IRA
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