More and more people are looking at switching to a gold retirement plan. It’s something I’ve done myself. Why?
A physical gold IRA provides a simple means to create some stability in your retirement planning but, like every investment, there are a few essential pointers you need to know to maximize profits.
In troubled financial times, like we’re in at the moment, gold has historically become the ultimate hedge against financial and political crises. It can be an excellent retirement investment in the right circumstances.
It’s also now more easy than ever to set up your very own Gold IRA.
You can invest in gold for your retirement plan, like a 401K rollover or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), but it has to be a qualified investment. Exchange traded gold funds (ETFs) will usually qualify just like other stocks traded on the market. Gold coins may be a different story. A retirement account may only accept .999 pure gold for investing.
What you need is a custodian account (someone to manage your account for you). In a traditional IRA, investors might be able to deduct their contribution every year, based on their yearly income, along with whether or not they’re a participant in an employer sponsored retirement program. You also need to recognize that Gold IRAs are thought of as alternative investments.
Gold is a safe and valuable investment for your retirement plan. You can actually add some U.S. mint coins to your IRA since their value is guaranteed by the U.S. government. Build a diverse portfolio that includes gold so you can protect your savings from inflation, a devalued dollar and finance your retirement.
Look around this site and you’ll find plenty of reasons why investing in gold is a good idea. Pegging your retirement plan to gold is also a smart move. Already in Europe, people’s pension pots are worth less than they’ve paid into them. Things can only get worse over the coming years as the population ages in the West, with more people trying to draw on pensions that are not giving the expected returns.
Pensions have also been raided in Europe to pay down debts incurred by banksters. Once again, the taxpayer and little guy foots the bill for the excesses of the financial elite.
The USA has been carefully watching the implementation of Europe’s policies with an eye to doing something similar here.
While you can manage your own gold investments, perhaps the most overlooked way to invest in gold is the Gold IRA which has out-preformed almost all other paper investments, such as real estate and the stock market (despite the current highs).
A Gold IRA can reduce the volatility of your retirement portfolio. Historically, gold has moved counter to the direction of stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
An Example of Investing In Gold…
If you had purchased $33,000 of gold in 2001, you could sell that gold today for around $129,551.12. Thats over 300% return on investment! Has your current retirement account performed as well as a Gold IRA would have?
If you had purchased $33,000 of gold in 1971, when the United States abandoned the Bretton Woods Exchange under president Richard Nixon (when the Dollar stopped being a gold-backed currency), and you’d held on to that gold during the last recent economic crisis, you could sell that gold today for $1,155,000.00!!!
From the traders of antiquity to today’s most savvy investors, accumulating gold stands the test of time. Gold is accumulated for a myriad of reasons, including to hedge volatile stock markets, to offset fluctuating commodities prices, and as a safe haven against falling home prices. To capitalize on consistent growth in value, gold has always proven the safest investment.
What Precious Metals Can Be Held in a Retirement Plan?
The United States government currently allows certain precious metals to be held in a retirement account. Here is the current list of acceptable precious metals for retirement accounts:
GOLD
- American Eagle coins
- Australian Kangaroo/Nugget coins
- Austrian Philharmonic
- Canadian Maple Leaf Coins
- Credit Suisse gold – PAMP Suisse gold Bars .999
- U.S. Buffalo Gold Uncirculated coins (No Proofs)
- Bars and rounds as referenced below
- American Eagle coins
- Australian Kookaburra coins
- Austrian Philharmonic coins
- Canadian Maple Leaf coins
- Mexican Libertad coins
- Bars and rounds as referenced below
PLATINUM
- American Eagle coins
- Australian Koala coins
- Canadian Maple Leaf coins
- Isle of Man Noble coins
- Bars and rounds as referenced below
PALLADIUM
- Bars and rounds as referenced below
Note that coins, including the American Eagle, that have undergone “certification” (also known as “slabbed” coins) by companies such as NGC or PCGS are not acceptable in retirement plans at this time.
Only bars and rounds produced by manufacturers accredited by Nymex/Comex, LME, LBMA, NYSE/Liffe/CBOT, and ISE-9000 or a national mint are acceptable. The minimum fineness for bars are:
- Gold: .995+ (at least 99.5% pure)
- Silver: .999+ (at least 99.9% pure)
- Platinum: .9995+ (at least 99.95% pure)
- Palladium: .9995+ (at least 99.95% pure)
Proof coins are also acceptable in a Gold IRA. These typically have a limited mintage and their prices are determined by many factors including: mintage, rarity, condition, age, the price of the particular metal, and demand. The United States government issues a limited number of proof coins each year and certain years have been known to sell out quickly. Due to their numismatic significance, proof coins are generally more expensive than bullion coins. Their values, which do move up and down in markets (based on collectibility), may not be as volatile as their bullion counterparts.
So To The Question: Should You Transfer or Rollover Your Retirement Plan?
The Transfer option is perhaps the easier of the two. In this case, your existing IRA assets are moved from one custodian to another. It’s something you can do at any time. However, you are not in the transfer chain. The distribution check from the old IRA custodian must be made out in the name of the trustee or custodian of the new IRA account that receives the funds.
The second alternative is a “rollover.” A rollover occurs when “you” receive the distribution from your existing retirement account and then turn around and deposit it in another retirement plan custodial account. In this case you would need to re-deposit the funds into the new retirement plan account within 60 days. If the 60 day time period is exceeded, you would be liable for taxes and penalties on the money withdrawn. You may roll over the same money only once every 12 months to preserve the tax-deferred status of your retirement savings.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of your traditional investment preferences, tangible assets like gold and silver can help make the profitability and safety of your retirement portfolio far more attainable.
Transferring your current IRA in whole or in part into gold is a simple proposition if you prefer to have a company like Regal Assets act as your account custodian.
If you prefer to manage things yourself, you can buy gold (silver and other precious metals) as and when you want. The difficulty with owning precious metals you personally buy is storage. Where can you safely put your bullion to prevent it from theft or a fire? I don’t recommend storing your bullion with a bank because if they close due to a financial crisis, you won’t be able to get access to your bullion. Having a custodian manage your account removes that consideration.
We’ve seen a lot of financial hardship afflict here and Europe since the 2008 crash. While the financial elite seem to be making money off everyone else’s misfortune, the rest of us are dealing with job loss, foreclosure, student debt and any other number of financial burdens.
To cap it all, the Dollar’s value is constantly being eroded by all the new dollars being printed. And, since the Dollar was taken off the gold standard back in 1971, it’s value is only what we all agree it is. It’s value by consensus and confidence. If we, or the rest of the world, lose confidence in the dollar, or it stops being the world’s reserve currency, then it’s value could go into freefall. Just like what happened in Venezuela.
In those circumstances, those investing in gold will be the winners, able to ride out the financial storm that would ensue.
If all that sounds alarmist or overly pessimistic, many analysts like Jim Rickards, Mike Maloney, Bill Holter and others are predicting another crash. One happens every 10 years on average. And we haven’t even recovered from the last one!
To find out more about how to get a gold retirement account, request a free Gold Investment Kit here.
