Gold IRA Rollover – The Complete Guide

Gold IRA Rollover – Breakdown

As traditional investment tools tend to place your money at risk it is about time for us to investigate, what is a gold IRA rollover, how do you get one, whether it’s worth it, what are the rules, and much more.

What is a gold IRA?

A gold IRA is an individual retirement account, an account that functions the same way as a regular IRA account however, instead of holding paper assets, it holds physical bullion coins or bars.

Gold IRA History

After the financial crisis in 2008, which brought a recession, investors became interested in gold IRAs. The reason for that was the significant drop in the stock market and real estate, which took place between the years 2007 and 2009. Those two years, the stock market lost 50% of its value and that loss was reflected in people’s retirement portfolios. Although there were significant losses in almost any type of investment, the price of gold moved in the opposite direction reaching record highs, as all other precious metals did. (silver, platinum, palladium)

Reasons for You to Invest in Gold IRAs

1-Diversification. There is no doubt that IRAs are suited for portfolio diversification in case, economic and world news cause another drop in the stock market.

2-Protects your investment from inflation. Gold is a hedge against inflation. During the years of the highest inflation after world war 2 (1946, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980), the average real return of the Dow Jones Industrial Average was -13,33% compared to 130,5% for gold.

3-Gold is a tangible asset. Traditional investing is putting money in the stock market, buying certificates of deposit, or buying bonds. These are not tangible assets. In fact, it could take time for you to convert these investments into cash. For example, if you invest in CDs or bonds you may have to wait for a number of years before you receive a return. If you want to terminate your CDs investment and wish to withdraw early, you might have to pay a penalty. This is not the case with gold or silver as you can convert your coins or bars into cash immediately, as the demand for precious metals is constant.

4-Increasing demand for gold and silver industrial use. Both precious metals have a growing demand for industrial use. In particular, they are used in smartphones, computers, medicine, and nanotechnology. And if we consider the massive precious metals demand for jewelry, only then do we get the full picture.

5-Gold is not a claim on someone else’s liability. Gold has never lost its value for mismanagement, corruption, theft, war, etc. Stocks have. Also, there has never been and never been a haircut to gold as it’s been happening with debts and savings.

6-Geopolitical uncertainty. Geopolitical tensions are growing, the Middle East is still in turmoil. Syria and Iran are under Russian control, with the United States has lost its credibility. Hong Kong tensions never stop, Brexit deal, and North Korea continues to upset its unruly behavior.

7-The US-China and the US-EU trade war. Although it seems like the Chinese and the Americans are coming to their senses and trying to close a new trade deal, the Americans and the Europeans are now just about to start a new trade war themselves.

What is a Rollover IRA

A rollover IRA is an account that allows you to shift funds from your former employer-sponsored retirement plan, (401k) or another type of retirement account.

Rollover IRA Benefits

1-A rollover IRA will keep your retirement dollars safe from taxes when the process is done properly.

2-A rollover IRA can provide a wider range of investment choices that may meet your goals and reduce risk.

3-Gold IRAs tend to have low fees compared, to some 401k plans which have high administrative fees. Although these high fees are not enough to make contributions to the fund a bad deal, if you can get a better deal by paying lower fees, then it makes sense to switch from a 401k account to an IRA account.

4-As you switch from one job to another, over the course of your career, then it makes sense to keep rolling over your plans to a single rollover IRA account.

>>>>to read my Regal Assets review press here

Gold IRA Rollover vs. Gold IRA Transfer

There is a large difference between a rollover transfer and a rollover. According to the IRS, there is a clear distinction between the two. A rollover is when the money being moved is paid directly to you and then you deposit the money in the account that you want. A transfer is when the custodian transfers the money directly to the new custodian. In this case, you never see the money.

I personally recommend the IRA transfer. It is easy, you will not have to worry about a thing and the possibility of getting penalized by the IRS is zero.

How to Initiate an IRA Account

To initiate a gold IRA account is simple. First, you need to find a custodian. It is important to have a custodian because it is illegal to hold the gold yourself. The custodian’s task will be, to hold the gold you invest via your IRA. If you have trouble finding a custodian, you can ask your bank for a reference, your trust company, or even your credit union. You also have to do your own research, to make sure he has a long history of solid gold-performing IRAs.

The next step is to find a precious metal broker, who will actually sell you the gold. In most cases, the custodian will be able to provide you with a list of brokers. After you find a suitable broker, you will have to open your new account and buy your precious metals. That’s all.

When the time arrives for you to retire, you can choose either to accumulate the precious metals or, to liquidate them into cash. The IRS will tax either task as an allocation as it always does. Remember, two things are certain in life, death, and taxes.

Gold IRA Rollover and Gold IRA Transfer Rules

If you decide to go ahead with an IRA rollover, then you will have 60 days to deposit the money to the custodian. Failing to keep that deadline, the money will become a taxable withdrawal and you will have to pay the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

If you decide to go ahead with an IRA transfer, you will not have to worry about the 60-day rule. The money will be wired directly from the old custodian to the new. This is the best way to invest in gold through your IRA because, the process will take part in the background, without you having to worry about a thing.

What Percentage of my Portfolio Should I Rollover to my Gold IRA

A serious investor never puts all eggs into one basket. For example, you do not want all your savings invested in stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. During the 2008 crisis, the stock market dropped 50% and real estate suffered heavy losses. On the other side, gold stood its ground and reached record highs.

Nowadays, traditional forms of investment can bring investors high profits and heavy losses too. A down-to-earth investor should have a percentage of his savings placed in non-correlated assets. Gold and precious metals are non-correlated assets. Non-correlated assets are the assets whose value goes up when mainstream assets’ value drops. Gold and other precious metals always perform better in times of crisis and investors include them in their portfolios for security reasons.

Most investors invest in gold between 5% and 10% of their savings. However, some investors are aggressive and place gold as a larger percentage of their savings.

The money you wish to invest in your gold IRA is your own personal decision. All you need to do is to set your priorities. Are you happy with your IRA returns? Is your IRA exposed to stock market instability? Are you happy with the way the economy is going? What about the dollar’s value, will it rise or fall? Do you believe gold has the potential to reach $6000 per troy ounce?

If you want to diversify your portfolio with a non-correlated asset, then investing 5% to 10% of your savings in gold will be more than enough.

If you are not happy with the way the economy is going, the accumulating debt, and the performance of the dollar, then you could invest 10% to 20% in gold.

Furthermore, if you happen to believe all the above and that gold’s price is going to explode, then you could invest 20% to 30% into gold.

It is not advisable for the investor to hold a portfolio completely made out of gold.

When times are favorable for one particular asset, then it is prudent for the investor to increase the percentage of its investment in that particular asset. For example, if times favor stocks, then the investor should place an extra 5% or 10% percent into stocks. If the market is bullish on gold, then it would be a good idea for the investor to increase the percentage of his investment into gold.

>>>>>>> Press here to read my 9 reasons to invest in gold

Is There a Safe Investment?

There is no safe investment whatsoever. Over the years, there has never been an investment whose value moved upwards and only upwards, year after year. Although all types of investments have their good and bad moments, in the long run, the investor ends with a substantial amount of profit.

There are high-risk investments, medium-risk investments, and low-risk investments. High-risk investments most of the time have high returns and low-risk investments have rather low profit margins but, low-risk investments give you a high level of security.

Gold is considered to be a low-risk investment because, of its ability to do well when times are bad. In the next chart, you will see why gold is an important asset in a crisis situation.

	Black Monday1987	Iraq-Kuwait War1990	Dot Com Crash2001	Financial Crisis2008
Stock Market Decline	-38.9	-22.5	-27%	-34%
Gold Price Results	+5%	+7.5%	+1%	+5%
Gold Outperformed Stocks By Ratio	45:1	31:1	29:1	40:1

IRS Approved IRA Coins and Bullion

When it comes to investing in IRA coins or bullion, not all coins or bullion are approved. That’s because the IRS has placed strict purity rules and requirements. Therefore, all coins and bullion approved, are those who meet the strict IRA rules. The IRA-approved gold should have a purity grade of at least 0,995, for silver 0,999, for platinum 0,9995, and 0,9995 for palladium.

Gold IRA Rollover approved

• 1-American gold eagle coins
• 2-American gold buffalo coins
• 3-Australian gold kangaroo nugget/coins
• 4-Austrian gold philharmonic coins
• 5-Canadian gold maple leaf coins
• 6-Credit Suisse golden bars
• 7-Johnson Matthey gold bar
• 8-Valcambi gold combi bar

Silver IRA approved

• 1-American silver eagle coins
• 2-Australian kookabarra silver coins
• 3-Austrian Philharmonic silver coin
• 4-Canadian silver maple leaf coins
• 5-Mexican silver libertad coins
• 6-Johnson Matthey silver bar
• 7-Royal Canadian silver bar

Platinum IRA approved

• 1-American eagle platinum coins
• 2-Australian koala platinum coins
• 3-Canadian maple leaf platinum coins
• 4-Isle of man noble coins

Palladium IRA approved

• 1-Canadian palladium maple leaf coins
• 2-Russian ballerina palladium coins
• 3-Baird palladium bar
• 4-Credit Suisse palladium bars

Shall I Include Other Precious Metals in my Gold IRA

Gold IRA is a term used to describe not just an IRA invested solidly in gold, but rather an IRA consisting of various precious metals. (Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium) Of course, there can be an IRA where gold is the only precious metal invested in and this is the usual case.

In a well-balanced gold IRA, the largest percentage of the investment is in gold usually 80% to 90%, with silver following with 10% to 20% and platinum-palladium with 5%. Silver, platinum, and palladium are volatile and higher risk of precious metals than gold. When times favor gold, all other precious metals follow. During those times, they tend to have higher returns than gold therefore, it is sensible for an investor to have a small percentage from his/her portfolio invested there.

It is also sensible for the investor to invest small in those volatile metals because, when they suffer losses, their losses are heavier than those of gold. We want to take advantage of the rise and maximize profits and at the same time minimize losses.

Conclusion

Investing in a gold IRA is becoming increasingly popular for the modern investor, as gold can offer a number of benefits to the investor. Gold will actually act as a hedge to protect your life savings during bad times.

If we also take into account the geopolitical instability around the world, the recession we expect in 2020, the overvalued stock market, and the undervalued gold, now is the best time to invest in gold and other precious metals.

I hope my hold IRA rollover post answered all your questions. In case you have a query feel free to write a comment and I will answer back.

Related articles

Gold IRA Frequently Asked Questions