Gold IRA (or Precious Metals IRA) is a self-directed Individual Retirement Account, which has become very popular in recent years, especially for those who are looking for diversity and stability in their investment portfolio.

This type of IRA allows the investor to own physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium, in the form of coins and bars to their tax-sheltered retirement accounts; instead of paper-based assets such as cash, stocks and bonds. But is this the right move for you? Make sure you learn more about it below before making any investment decision.

Why Gold IRA?

With the primary objective of long-term preservation of wealth, there are numerous reasons to have an IRA backed by precious metals. Here are some of the fundamental benefits:

Protection through diversification – Having precious metals within a balanced investment portfolio can potentially reduce its overall risk, helping to protect against market shocks and financial crisis. It can also act as a good insurance in times of geo-political uncertainty, natural disasters and wars. In fact, gold has been proven to be resilient during turbulent times. Unlike a stock, where the underlying firm can go bankrupt, or a bond, where the issuer may default on a coupon or redemption payment, there’s no credit risk in gold.

Growth potential – Gold is the most useful metal on earth, and the demand for it continues to outstrip supply. Jewelry and technology applications make up more than 50% of demand, and most gold is bought in the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets. China and India account for more than half of all gold purchases, annually. Newly-mined gold can only meet about two-thirds of current global demand. In addition, central banks are no longer net sellers of gold, so the rest of the demand is currently fulfilled with recycled gold. With demographic and economic trends predicting increasing wealth and expanded populations in the world’s two largest gold markets, gold demand has the potential to continue rising. Weakening of stocks and other paper investments due to the economic instability will drive even more demands towards precious metals. In many cases, these assets can provide a substantial return on investment in the long run.

Hedge against inflation – The Fed is printing more money. Your cash or any of your paper-based investments is effected by inflation, while gold has the opposite effect on it and helps you maintain your purchasing power. A growing body of research has shown that having a portion of savings in gold can improve purchasing power over the long term, especially as the real value of most major currencies declines. Hence it would be a great way to preserve your wealth or retirement funds with precious metals.

Tax benefits – There is no penalties and payable tax involved in any gold IRA transfer or rollover, because it falls under income investments category which is tax-differed. You are not required to pay for the normal collectible capital gain tax of your metals when they are liquidated. This tax rate can be as high as 28% on the gold kept outside an IRA. You will only have to pay for tax during withdrawal in the form of distributions. You can set up a self-directed gold IRA in the form of a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA. The latter uses pre-tax dollars, which means that taxes are payable after distribution. On the other hand, funding Roth accounts involves after-tax contributions.

Safe tangible storage – Most of the reliable gold IRA firms can provide a safe, secured and insured storage for your precious metals, either in the states or offshore based on your liking.

Family & Legacy – Provide safety, stability and security for family by not leaving spouse or children behind with no assets.

Any Risks?

Scam – You need to be very cautious while choosing a gold IRA firm, as there is a chance you could get ripped off. There are still many scammers in this market, even though the financial authorities are taking massive actions to improve oversight of the market. You would not know whether your precious metals are indeed being held for you or not, as you do not physically hold them yourself. Some companies might not even have sufficient precious metals to fulfill their clients’ accounts. Make sure to do your own due diligence before making any investment decision.

Theft – Any physical commodity is subject to theft risk. Someone could break into the depository where your gold is being stored and steal it. However, to qualify for gold IRAs, depositories are required to be insured, which would protect your investment as long as your account doesn’t exceed the custodian’s stated value.

Investment – All investments come with risks and rewards, gold IRAs included. But if you’re invested for the long run and having a balanced investment portfolio, gold IRA is still a safe, stable, and powerful vehicle for maintaining long-term asset growth and wealth preservation. Don’t forget many of these risks also exist for traditional IRAs, too.

Is Your Account Eligible?

Over dozen types of retirement account are provided in the United States. Learn if you can actually invest precious metals in your existing one(s).

On top of the more popular traditional IRA and 401(k), some other retirement plans that may qualify would be 403(b), 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, Pension Plan, Thrift Savings Plan(TSP), TIAA CREF, or non-traditional IRA. You may contact your current plan provider or a trustworthy gold IRA firm to verify further on the eligibility for your existing account.

If it’s eligible, then you can simply do a direct account transfer to your chosen gold IRA custodian. However you may discover, after inquiry, that your present custodian or plan provider is not willing to offer you many opportunities to invest in gold with your current retirement plan. In that case, you may opt for a gold IRA rollover instead.

So what’s the difference between direct transfer and rollover?

• Direct transfer – It is a tax-free process. You can simply move your IRA funds from one custodian to another. The process time needed is usually shorter. Since it’s a tax-free process, you don’t have to report anything on your income tax and you are allowed to perform as many transfers as you like.
• Rollover process – It allows you to transfer whole or part of your retirement funds into a self-directed (gold) IRA. There are no tax penalties whatsoever, provided the process is completed within 60 days. And it can be repeated once in every 12 months.

Most of the gold IRA companies will gladly help you with them.

Finding a Reliable Gold IRA Company

Investors have many options for gold IRA company. Choosing which one to use is complicated, as it is a specialized task that major brokerage firms generally don’t offer. Here are a few important criteria and quick tips for you:-

• Transparency – Knowing all your costs up front to avoid any nasty surprises, such as hidden fees after you invest.
• Track record – Look for a company with an outstanding track record from objective third parties, such as the Better Business Bureau, the Business Consumer Alliance or the Trustlink Reviews. It may also be helpful to dig into what customers say about the company, especially the number of customer complaints filed against the company. Look for a company that was “educational and not pushing a hard sell.”
• Flexibility – Each investor’s needs and goals are different, so choose a company that will cater to your needs rather than having a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Qualifications – You should only deal with a company that has all the appropriate and required licenses, registrations, insurance and bonds to protect your investment. Ask for verification of those licenses and other information.

Here’s the Top 5 List

Now let’s take a look at the 5 best gold IRA companies of our in-depth researches, and what they have in store for potential investors:-

#1 Goldco | 9.8 – Most Trustworthy, Best Advisors & Best Prices

Way ahead of the competition with an A+ rating from BBB (Better Business Bureau), an “AAA” from BCA (Business Consumer Alliance), 5 stars from hundreds of happy customer reviews on Trustlink, and zero fraud lawsuit so far, Goldco tops the list of gold IRA investing firms.

The required minimum purchase at Goldco to start a gold IRA is $25,000. Goldco’s preferred Custodian charges a flat annual account service fee which includes a one-time IRA account set-up fee of $50. as well as a $30 wire fee. Annual maintenance is $100, and storage is $150 for segregated storage or $100 for non-segregated storage.

Fees for gold storage and custodianship can vary depending on the company you select to handle these services (required by the IRS, as all IRA assets must be managed by a custodian). Depending on the Custodian, storage fees can range from $10 to $60 per month, or as a percentage of assets, from 0.35% to 1% annually. Goldco does not charge any storage fees for cash transactions over $25,000.

Expert guidance, ‘not pushy’ and excellent customer service characterizes Goldco.

Current promotion: Goldco currently has an unbelievable offer where they will match dollar for dollar up to 10% of your order in free silver! That means on a $100,000 order, you get up to $10,000 in free silver!

>>Learn More about This Offer Here<<

>>Goldco Full Review

#2 American Hartford Gold | 9.3 – Best Buyback Program

American Hartford Gold is definitely another reliable gold IRA firm that’s worth checking out. This company has been around for years and enjoys the trust of loyal customers.

New IRA accounts with this company are activated in just 24 hours, with the minimum investment amount being set at $10,000.00. The annual fee is $180 for maintenance cost.

They also have a very similar promotion deal offered by Goldco, where you may get up to $10,000 in free precious metals. Plus a 100% free IRA rollover with each qualified investment, by which you may expect your storage, maintenance & insurance fees completely waived for up to 3 years.

And as mentioned above, you can expect a hassle free liquidation of your precious metals with zero charges in the future upon their buyback commitment.

#3 Augusta Precious Metals | 9.1 – Most Educational, Best Premium Bullion

Augusta Precious Metals has taken an education approach to Gold IRAs. They realize that investing in precious metals is not for everyone. Recognizing that, they’re interested in partnerships that work for everyone involved—and they’ll make sure that it will work for you before enrolling you in their programs.

This means they’ll encourage you to sit in on their webinars instead of trying to sell you on a product. Augusta wants you to know if investing in gold is right for you. That way, if you do invest with them, you’re happy with the outcome.

Augusta puts the focus on what’s best for you and your retirement goals and plans. If gold fits into those plans, then they’re there for you. But it doesn’t fit for you, they’ll be the first to let you know.

>>Augusta Full Review

#4 Birch Gold Group | 8.8 – Best Customer Service

Over decades of experience in the industry since 2003, Birch Gold Group, “The Precious Metal IRA Specialists” strive to empower their customers through knowledge, where you can rest assured to understand every single investment option or opportunity that’s best suited to you, including the pros and cons of each.

Minimum investment required is set at $10,000 for both IRA or cash deal. The annual IRA maintenance fee is $100+$80 for storage and management fee respectively.

Birch Gold is proud to uphold a high standard of customer services that include customer empowerment, educational, empathy, ethical, transparency as well as efficiency.

>>Birch Gold Group Full Review

#5 Noble Gold | 8.5 – Lowest Fees

Before you finalize a decision about which Gold IRA company to use, don’t forget to also consider Noble Gold. Collin Plume, the president and CEO of Noble Gold aims to ensure that each client receives the expert advice and help they need to make sound financial investments to secure a successful future. Noble Gold doesn’t use a hard-sell approach that you may find with many other Gold IRA companies, rather they focus on making sure the independent needs of each client are address.

Noble Gold’s clients are overwhelming happy with the service and attention they receive based on the large number of positive reviews the company has earned.

The Right Questions for Gold IRA Firms

You are advised to speak with a preferred gold IRA firm before making any investment decision. Here are some top questions you should consider asking your selected firm(s):-

IRA Setup Fees and Storage Fees – There could be a scaling administration and storage fee scheduled annually for most of the gold IRA custodians, which can become very costly as the account value grows. When ask about the storage fees, you should be extra cautious as they may tell you it’s a flat fee, yet in fact there could be a hidden storage limit. If there’s additional fund added or natural growth of value to your account which exceeds the limit, the fee could scale up greatly and cost you a fortune over the duration of your storage time with them. Our advice is to always go with the company with flat storage and admin fee, some will even waive your first year fees conditionally.

Precious Metals and Storage Facilities – Ensure that you purchase only the investment grade precious metals that are acceptable for IRA. You should also carefully choose a custodian that can provide you with the best secured storage facilities for their protection, instead of a ‘home storage’ option offer which is actually very risky. In fact, this ‘home/self-storage IRA’ arrangement has not been approved or recognized by the IRS due to its materials financial risk to the IRA’s owner. And at the age of 59 1/2, you will be able to take physical possession of your metals without any penalties. You can have both bullion bars or coins in your IRA, and they each have their own pros and cons.

Buyback Program – Is there a buy back program available with the company for the precious metals you purchase? What if you want to cash out when the price is right? Will you get a fair value for them? Not only you should get a fair price with the gold IRA firm during your purchase, but also during your assets liquidation too.

Trust your gut’s instinct and go with the company who’s looking out for your best interest rather than just turning a profit from your sale.

Consultations

It can be a headache if you choose the wrong company as it can cost you additional money and time for the entire process. Or worse, get ripped off by some shady scammers that disguise as authoritative companies in the industry.

If you’ve decided to roll over to a gold IRA account, you should always consult a real trusted professional to help answer your remaining questions, your rollover process as well as any future tax issues.

Check Out the #1 Most Preferred Gold IRA Firm Today

Pay them a visit now: Goldco.com