Disclaimer: We are reader supported. We may be compensated from the links in this post, if you use products or services based on our expert recommendations.
Why Gold IRAs Make More Sense Than 401k's
Are you getting ready to retire? Or maybe you're younger and want a great way to maximize the safety and potential return on your long-term retirement investment portfolio.
Whatever the case, NOW is the time to get all the relevant information. That means using facts to evaluate the differences between using a gold IRA and a traditional 401k account.
Millions of working people currently have 401k's through their employers and contribute to them every year. Of course, it's better to have a retirement account than not have one at all. But, the goal should not be just to "get by" with an okay portfolio. It should be to maximize your returns and financial stability at the same time.
How to Decide?
How can people decide where the best place is to put their retirement money? It's actually a three-step process and begins with reviewing the main advantages of gold IRAs, which happen to be the ONLY retirement accounts that allow investors to hold precious physical metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
Note: You'll hear the term "gold IRA," but remember that the metal or metals in them can be any mixture of the four primary precious metals listed above.
After learning about the benefits of gold IRAs in general, the second step is to compare them to 401k's and see why gold IRAs are a wiser, safer choice for retirement accounts. The third step is to evaluate the top providers in the space. They are Augusta Precious Metals (APM), Goldco, and American Hartford Gold, and they lead the industry in customer satisfaction, selection of precious metals products, integrity, experience, and ease of opening a new account.
Only you can decide whether a precious metals IRA makes sense for your long-term financial health. But, after gathering the facts and seeing what's out there, chances are that you'll end up wanting to do one of three things:
Information is power, so be sure to review the following points about how IRAs work and what your options are in terms of account types and precious metals companies to work with.
One more important thing:
We understand how difficult it is to pick a company that you can trust with your hard earned savings. This is why we research the financial sector thoroughly to offer you good and useful information to help you make the right decision.
We created a list of our highest recommended investment companies, to make comparing and choosing the company best suited to your needs as easy as possible.
Or...
Get a FREE Gold IRA Investing Guide from top ranked Gold Investment Company.
This investing kit will tell you everything you need to know about Gold IRAs, and how to avoid penalties and taxes by following IRS rules:
Protect Your Wealth & Get Huge Tax Saving!
Step 1: Learn the Main Benefits of Gold IRAs
Gold IRAs, which are one type of self-directed IRA (SDIRA) can hold assets other than stocks and cash. Note that the vast majority of people who have retirement accounts like traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401k's, and Roth 401k's, fill them with things like cash, stocks, index funds, and mutual funds, but not any tangible assets like precious metals or real estate. Current tax law prohibits traditional retirement accounts from holding tangible assets.
Gold IRAs can hold a number of intangibles, including precious metals, real estate, promissory notes, ranch land, private equity, farmland, venture capital, partnerships, joint ventures, and a few others.
Precious metals are ideal for investors who want to hold assets for the long term and let value build over the decades. Plus, because all gold IRAs are, by legal definition, considered self-directed, you are the only one who decides what goes into the account and how it is managed. In fact, that is the whole idea behind the "self-directed" concept.
People get the same tax preferences with gold IRAs as they do with traditional retirement accounts like 401k's and others. That means you can choose to either defer taxes until you make the withdrawals after you retire or pay tax on the money now and not be obligated to pay it when you make withdrawals.
Step 2: Why Gold IRAs Surpass 401k's
Based on the information above about how gold IRAs work and what their primary benefits are, it's clear to see that the top way they outshine 401k's is in what you can put into the accounts. Under no circumstances can investors or anyone else place bullion or coins into a 401k. It's not legal to do so.
But you can place precious metals, bullion, and certain coins into gold IRAs, so that's the number one reason 401k's fall behind. Next, keep in mind that gold and other metals offer the chance for diversification, namely the chance to have something other than paper-backed assets in your retirement portfolio. Many people choose metals-backed IRAs for this reason alone.
What else? Throughout history, precious metals have been a solid choice for investors who want to protect their long-term savings against the ravages of inflation. How? Because metals are tangible assets and highly valued by people all over the world, they often rise in value, or at least hold their worth, when inflation is surging, like it is in the early 2020s.
Inflation aside, what happens to your 401k money if the economy takes a significant downturn, which could very well happen in the near future? There's a high probability any market-invested, paper-backed securities would take a major hit. The situation is almost the complete opposite for gold IRAs because precious metals tend to outperform intangible assets in times of economic uncertainty and volatility.
Quick Review of How Gold IRAs Surpass 401k's
If you're currently holding retirement money in a 401k, here's a cheat sheet of reasons to consider converting some or all of the account into a gold IRA:
Step 3: Exploring the Top Providers of Gold IRAs
Before choosing a provider, gather the essential facts about the top three companies in the gold IRA industry. They're all excellent and have solid reputations, but for various reasons, one might be better suited to your particular investment situation. Here are the pertinent features of each company.
Augusta Precious Metals (WINNER)
In addition to the many free educational resources on the Augusta Precious Metals (APM) website, the company offers a full lineup of gold and silver IRAs for customers. The company's average online reviews are 4.97 out of a possible 5.00 rating, and they notched a BBB (Better Business Bureau) rating of A+. Likewise, on respected review sites like Business Consumer Alliance, TrustLink, Facebook, and others, they have solid ratings as well.
Account setup is simple. New clients need only create an IRA via the APM official custodian, fund a new account or rollover one they already have, buy silver and/or gold from the order agent, let the designated APM custodian, Equity Trust, do the paperwork and set up the official account. Equity works in all U.S. states, oversees more than $25 in total assets and has more than three decades of experience.
From that point, it's time to let the Augusta rep help you secure storage in the Delaware Depository, an IRS-approved vault. For customers who want to buy non-IRA precious metals, APM will not only sell the gold and silver but ship the metals to them at no cost.
Note: APM sells gold and silver but not platinum or palladium. However, they offer a wide selection of bullion and coins, including American Eagles in both gold and silver, as well as Canadian Maple Leafs and the silver "America the Beautiful" coin. See the company's website, www.augustapreciousmetals.com, for a full list of their current menu of bullion and coins.
Goldco has long been a leader in the gold IRA industry and has carved out a reputation for itself based on top-notch customer service. On their website, www.goldco.com, people can see all their educational resources and the long list of products they offer. Their pricing is highly competitive, and Goldco offers a 10% refund, in silver coins, for all new customers.
Goldco uses the Delaware Depository as its preferred storage vault. They have two custodians for customers to choose from, Equity Trust and Self Directed IRA. Account initiation is simple. New clients speak directly with a specialist who does all the paperwork as you converse with them. After choosing whether you want a Roth or standard SDIRA account, you transmit funds into it and then choose the coins and bullion from the menu.
You'll have a chance to select your custodian, fund the account, and complete all the necessary paperwork before getting off the phone. At that point, the account setup process is complete. Goldco has an A+ rating from the BBB and a 4.8 overall rating on TrustPilot, based on thousands of consumer reviews. They offer a vast selection of silver and gold coins and bullion, so check their website to see the latest listing.
American Hartford Gold, called "American Hartford" or AHG for short, offers a free guide on their website, www.americanhartfordgold.com, that explain all the pertinent facts about how gold IRAs work and how to set one up. AGG prides itself on assigning a specific account advisor to each client. That way, whenever you have a question, you can call a direct phone number and get an answer.
AHG sells silver and gold, not platinum or palladium, to investors who want to set up gold IRAs. Based in California, the family-owned business was rated by the Inc. 5000 organization in 2021 as the number one gold IRA company in the U.S. They have a simple and streamlined account creation system:
Call the company directly and let a specialist do your initial paperwork, rollover an existing 401k or IRA into a gold IRA, choose the silver and/or gold products you prefer, purchase your precious metals, choose a depository from the company's list of preferred providers, which includes Brinks, International Depository Services Group, and Delaware Depository. The AHG custodian is Equity Trust, the same one used by Augusta (see above).
American Hartford's menu of bullion and coins is extensive. Investors can choose silver and gold in a variety of forms, like Valcambi "combi-bars," one-ounce rounds and bars, Saint Helena Sovereign gold, Australian Wildlife silver, pre-1964 silver U.S. coins, 10 and 100-ounce silver bars, and many more that are listed on their website.
Making a Decision About Your Future
The best way to proceed with your retirement investing plan is to decide based on objective facts. If you currently hold paper-backed assets in a 401k or traditional IRA, consider moving all or a portion of them into a gold IRA, where they enjoy enhanced protection against economic failures like inflation. Plus, precious metals offer a unique form of diversification for retirees.
Check out the information about the most reputable providers and contact one of their agents to open an account. In an inflationary environment, it's smartest to act sooner rather than later because the stock market and economy could go sour quickly.
