How to Fund a Gold IRA

Over the past several years, inflation has become a dinner table conversational subject for families that thought little about economics in prior decades. Although the problem is finally beginning to get under control, smart investors have learned a lesson. They have taken the time to reevaluate their financial situations and many have found that they don’t feel as secure about their retirement funds as they used to.

Investing in gold is one popular way to hedge against inflation and diversify a portfolio, and that includes gold IRAs. Those who have already seen the light and decided to invest in gold can visit official site to get started. Everyone else can read on to find out about three ways to fund a gold IRA.

1. Transfer Funds

One of the most straightforward ways to fund a gold IRA is to have funds transferred from a traditional IRA. These transfers don’t need to be reported to the government and do not incur tax penalties. The types of accounts that can be used to fund a gold IRA include:

•  Traditional IRAs
• Roth IRAs
• SEP IRAs
• SIMPLE IRAs

The transaction itself is handled by the banks and account custodians, making this solution a simple one for workers.

2. Rollovers

There are also two ways to roll over the balance from another qualified retirement plan into a gold IRA. Qualified retirement plans include:

•  401(K)s
• TSPs
• 457(B)s
• 403(B)s
• Pension plans
• Tax-sheltered annuities

To qualify, the retirement plan has to be from either a previous employer or for someone eligible to withdraw funds without penalty. If this is the case, the account holder can also choose between:

Direct Rollovers

In a direct rollover, the account owner never comes into contact with any of the funds. No taxes are withheld because technically, the money is being moved from one retirement account into another by a plan administrator and a custodian.

Indirect Rollovers

Indirect rollovers require the account holders to act as go-betweens. They withdraw retirement funds from the old account administrator and then deposit them into a new account managed by a specialized gold IRA custodian. The transaction is still tax-free, but account holders need to complete the process within 60 days and this type of rollover can only be performed once per year.

3. Cash Contributions

Account holders can also use money from a checking or savings account to fund a gold IRA. The process is relatively quick and easy, but it’s worth noting here that people can’t just buy any type of gold, nor can they act as custodians for their accounts. They must alert the gold IRA service or account custodian used to manage the account that they want to make a cash contribution. That company will then purchase gold bullion, coins, or bars that meet IRS standards and store them in an IRS-approved depository.

Open an Account to Get Started

The first step is to find a gold IRA service that can help with opening an account. Once the account is open, it’s easy to fund it using one or more of the three methods described above.