Putting gold and silver in an IRA is a move we highly recommend. Gold and silver offer investors a safe haven against the uncertainties of time, the economy, geopolitics, natural disasters, and other factors and events that may have drastic consequences on volatile paper investments.

Gold and silver have retained their buying power and value in the over 5,000 years that they’ve been in use for commerce and trade. In times of inflation and other financial crises, people have turned to these precious metals to protect their assets.

If you’re considering putting gold and silver in an IRA, check if your existing IRA (if any) allows holding physical gold and silver. Investment in these precious metals may be done through paper shares, such as ETFs, certificates and mutual funds. If your goal, however, is to effectively diversify and balance your portfolio, physical ownership of these precious metals is the way to go.

If your existing IRA does not allow for physical metal investments, you will need to open a Gold and Silver IRA.

Setting up a Gold and Silver IRA

A Gold and Silver IRA is not much different from any other IRA, except that it’s the only type where you can hold physical gold and silver investments. The basic procedure for setting one up is similar to any other IRA, as follows:

1. Identify a custodian or administrator of your Gold and Silver IRA, who will be responsible for setting up the account.
2. Fund the account either through a rollover from another IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan, or through your regular IRA contributions. You may rollover all or just a portion of your funds from another IRA or retirement plan.
3. Identify an IRS-approved facility where you can store your metals.
4. Once your account is funded, you can direct your precious metal broker to purchase gold and silver coins and bars for your IRA.

Before putting gold and silver in an IRA, it is important to educate yourself about the basics of the investment. In particular, find out the types of gold and silver assets that are eligible for an IRA. An experienced broker can give you the guidance you need.

5. The metals you purchase will be delivered to your preferred storage facility.

Rules in physical gold and silver investments

In addition to using a third party storage facility, a main rule in putting gold and silver in an IRA account involves the eligibility of the metal forms. Here’s a quick look at these eligibility requirements, including those for other precious metals:

• Gold – at least 99.5% fine, except for Gold American Eagles
• Silver – at least 99.9% fine
• Platinum – at least 99.95% fine
• Palladium – at least 99.95%

You may not include metals of lesser purity when putting gold and silver in an IRA account.

Rules in metal custody

Investors are not allowed to buy their own precious metals and turn these over to their IRA custodian. The purchase has to be done through the broker or by the IRA administrator. If you use your IRA funds to purchase these precious metals on your own, and they stay in your possession even for a short time, this would count as a distribution and the metals you purchased would be taxable.

Putting gold and silver in an IRA is not a complicated procedure, but you have to make sure you work with the right professionals who will always look after your interest. Give us a call if you want to find out more. We will be happy to provide you with the guidance you need.