In 2008, the world experienced a financial crisis; the likes of which we hadn’t seen for many years. For much of Europe, the richest countries were struggling with their own economies while attempting to help those less fortunate. Over time, it even started to affect ourselve in the US as well as many other countries across the globe. Overall, it was an awful time and we’re still feeling the effects today.
Included in the millions that were affected, 401(k)s and IRAs lost a total of nearly $2.5 trillion in just six months. According to many sources, families and individuals who had been saving for decades lost up to 25% of their retirement money almost overnight. Immediately, Americans went looking for a solution to prevent this from ever happening again and more and more people are now finding it with an IRA Gold Rollover. Today, we’re going to explain what this is, why people are investing in gold, and how you can get started.
Introducing The IRA Gold Rollover
When researching this area of the IRA world, you’re likely to see the word ‘transfer’ arise but it’s important to note the difference between the two. While transferring is certainly an option, a rollover offers less risk and a tax-advantaged strategy of moving any retirement money you’ve built up.
With a transfer, your existing custodian transfers the money over to your new custodian which means you don’t see the money at any point (it bypasses you). On the other hand, a rollover will see you receive the money before then depositing it into the new gold IRA account. Although the new custodian will help you with every stage, it’s important to note that you’ll have 60 days to deposit the money into the new account otherwise the money will be subject to tax (because it’ll be treated as income).
Once your money is in the new account, you can take advantage of the many benefits of owning a gold IRA. Unfortunately, the information regarding gold IRAs still seems to be a little blurred so we’re going to show you why investing in gold is a hugely positive thing to do.
Why Invest in Gold?
When considering an IRA Gold Rollover, this is perhaps the first question you need to answer because your money will be placed into the precious metal. Luckily, there are numerous reasons as to why gold is so desirable!
Retains Value Through Rarity – Thanks to hundreds of years of digging and exploring, it seems as though we’re finally running out of mines to explore and this means we might just be working with all the gold in the world now. With this sort of rarity, it will always hold value and the centuries of evidence should prove this.
With stocks, bonds, and similar assets, they’re all reliant upon the dollar and, as we’ve seen in recent years, this isn’t as secure as we once thought. When the price of the dollar falls, so does the value of our regular IRAs and this is what cost future retirees trillions of dollars around a decade ago.
With gold, you have a level of security that didn’t previously exist. In fact, the value of your IRA will actually increase when the dollar declines because people look for more secure investments. If you’re looking for security and a way to retain your IRA’s value, gold is a great way to go.
Geopolitical Uncertainty – In addition to retaining value through financial uncertainty, gold will also keep its value during times of geopolitical uncertainty. For those in Europe, gold would have outperformed the wider economy during the instability we’ve been seeing with the European Union. Likewise, gold outperformed the dollar during the election and uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s office.
Diversification – When we say the word ‘diversification’, this doesn’t mean having stocks, bonds, and other investments that rely on the US dollar. If the economy were to collapse again, every single one of these investments would falter so where’s the security? If you‘re looking for real diversity, this comes from an asset that isn’t directly tied to the performance of the dollar or the economy. With gold, this is exactly what we have because it works within its own economy due to its rarity.
Choosing A Custodian
Now you know why an IRA gold rollover can be so helpful for your finances, how do you get the process started? In years gone by, we would have provided a very different answer but today the process is easy. Once you’ve chosen a custodian, they’ll typically do all the hard work on your behalf so all you need to do is relax and enjoy the new security you have with your retirement fund.
In order to enjoy this step, however, you do need to choose a custodian and this can be a little tricky. This being said, there are some simple considerations you can make before choosing a provider.
Licensing – First and foremost, any company helping you with an IRA gold rollover should have the appropriate license from the Internal Revenue Service. With IRS Publication 590, you can see the entities that are able to serve as a custodian and this generally includes banks, loan institutions, and specially-approved companies by the IRS.
Competitive Rates – Why pay expensive rates when there are companies who will charge less? These days, it isn’t necessarily the case that the very best companies charge the highest rates as you might find in other industries. When investigating your options, be sure to check all the different fees to work out exactly how much you’ll be paying each month.
Experience – If you were buying any other service, you’d look for experience fairly early on and this is no different with an IRA gold rollover. Although we would never like to dissuade you from buying from startups in general, this is your retirement money so go for a company with plenty of experience. The more time they’ve had in the industry, the easier they’ll find it to overcome hurdles.
Efficiency – Unfortunately, some companies leave you waiting but this can take huge chunks of money from your pocket so go for a service that can process everything in a quick time. Quicker the account is prepared and installed, the less stress you’ll have from start to finish.
Overall Support – Finally, we always recommend teaming up with a company who offer support and information. Rather than promising the world, they should be looking to inform you so you’re in the best position to make a solid financial decision. If you feel as though you’re being rushed, simply walk away and look for a more nurturing service.
Summary
With this guide, you should have everything you need to know surrounding an IRA gold rollover. As well as why you should invest in gold, you also know how to find a custodian that’ll look after you both now and long into the future. Although gold IRAs won’t be suitable for everybody, they can be incredibly effective so do some research, speak with custodians, talk with an impartial financial specialist, and make a positive step for your future!
Our personal recommendation to safeguard your future with gold is to contact Regal Assets, The #1 Rated Gold Investment Company 7 years in a row, Click Here To Request A FREE Gold Investors Kit.
I’m always a bit confused when people say to invest in gold. To me that means to physically buy bars of gold, but I think you may mean to invest in the commodities market. Is that correct? Gold fluctuates just like oil and silver. You can buy it and then sell it when the market is retracing.
Hi Melinda.. thank you for dropping and taking the time to comment.
When we say invest in Gold we are talking about physical gold however not recommending storing this at home.
We recommend working with an approved custodian who will responsible for buying the gold which will be kept at an IRS-approved third-party depository.
Our personal recommendation to safeguard your future with gold is to contact Regal Assets, The #1 Rated Gold Investment Company 7 years in a row, request a FREE Gold Investors kit.
I agree, diversification is a key justification to invest in gold. Like the share market, its about the timing of getting in & then time in the market. This is a very informative post.
Hi Jeff.. thank you for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
In time of economic crisis, in my opinion, Gold is the best investment you can have.