Open a Gold IRA

Silver, platinum, palladium or gold can all be purchased as investment metals. Silver is another great investment, however with the spot price at $20 an inch a wealthy individual would need to buy hundreds of pounds to hit a target of 20% for their portfolio. Read more now on top gold IRA companies

Storage of that much of it would cost a considerable amount from the retirement fund of any investor. So, while stable, silver is not ideal. Palladium, while worth significantly more than sterling, fluctuates in price wildly. Prices can decrease by up to 25 cents an ounce every day.

While platinum is rarer than palladium, its price fluctuates more and it can even fall below that of the precious metal gold. It is most convenient to use gold as a precious metal when rolling over your gold into IRA accounts. The benefits of a gold IRA are numerous and should not be overlooked by any investor.

Easy Tax Relief

Congress passed a tax relief law in 1997 that allowed for the inclusion of precious metals within an IRA. A precious-metals IRA is a similar investment to a self direct IRA. But the metals that can be used are gold, palladium or platinum. The precious metals IRA allows only certain types of gold. Therefore, it’s important to understand what is and isn’t allowed. The precious metals IRA allows gold bar and 24-karat bullion to be added.

However, the bars will have to bear an authentication stamp from the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. or Commodity Exchange Incorporation Inc.

The Variety of Options

IRS will also allow certain 24 Karat and 22 Karat coins to be placed in an IRA. American Eagles (also known as American Maple Leafs), Canadian Maple Leafs, and Australian Philharmonics make up the majority of gold coins included in precious metals IRAs. There will be an IRS depository fee and the gold has to be stored there. Gold IRA accounts, just like self-directed IRAs in general, require a service provider, usually a bank, brokerage, or other financial institution. There will also be a custodian fee, so compare and shop around.

Protection against Inflation

In 2008, thousands were affected by the loss of all or part of their retirement savings because they invested their money in stocks and bonds. It means there were no tangible assets. Their entire value was invested in stock and bond investments. The assets listed above are not secured by gold. Inflation can affect them. Gold actually grew in value even though the other precious alloys had a slight decline in price after the 2008 recession. Gold, literally, is the gold-standard and former impoverished countries including China and India buy every ounce.