A key selling point for gold IRAs is that you own the physical gold yourself. If that doesn’t matter to you, there are other ways to add exposure to precious metals to your retirement portfolio, such as buying stocks in gold mining companies. Annual fees are generally charged by the account custodian, and storage and insurance fees are more often owed to the custody account than to the Gold IRA company. Anyone who wants to buy precious metals or set up a gold IRA is free to do so at a price they’re happy to spend.
In fact, Augusta Precious Metals, one of the best gold IRA companies, specializes in helping people make just that choice. One important rule to know about storing physical gold in an IRA is that your precious metals MUST be stored at an approved depository institution such as the Delaware Depository Service Company or Brink’s Global Services, not in your home or in a safe. Once you reach 72 years of age, you’ll be required to accept the required minimum distributions (RMDs) from a traditional gold IRA (but not from a Roth IRA). Customers who buy gold and silver outside of an IRA will continue to receive advisory and administrative services from the firm.
The minimum investment for a Goldco gold or silver IRA is significantly higher than the minimum requirements of other companies. Administrators charge a commission to make it easier to buy or sell precious metals in a client’s gold IRA. Like a traditional IRA, a gold IRA allows pre-tax contributions, and investment income can then accumulate on a tax-deferred basis. A gold IRA is a specialized, self-managed individual retirement account designed to store precious metals.
Still, with its low minimum investment requirements and extensive educational resources, it has quickly become a favorite as the best Gold IRA company for new investors. Or, if you have a traditional retirement savings account and want to increase your exposure to gold, read here how you can buy a gold ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of gold. Many Gold IRA companies have preferred custodian banks that they either recommend or require their customers to use, or you can search for a custodian on the RITA website. For a gold IRA, you need a broker to buy the gold and a custodian to create and manage the account.
However, if you work with a reliable and customer-focused Gold IRA company, it is likely that this company has favorable buyback policies for coins or gold bars, although their transaction costs for gold bars may be higher.