During these times of volatility and uncertainty over the state of future world financial affairs, planning for your retirement is becoming more and more of a challenge.
With the current trends of financial uncertainty at an all-time high, shifting your retirement funding to a commodity that maintains its stability, as well as holds its value, might be the smartest move you can make today.
A Gold Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is one of the safest and most secure ways to ensure your financial future and reap the long-term benefits of your lifetime savings.
Gold investments and investments in other precious metals are investments in your and your family’s financial well-being and future. Let us take a look at some of the aspects of a Gold IRA Rollover to guide you through what you need to know.
What is a Gold IRA?
A gold IRA functions much the same as a regular IRA, with the exception that in a precious metals IRA, the assets held are physically as opposed to being held as paper assets.
A gold IRA is an IRS-approved depository of gold and other precious metals, allowing individuals the opportunity to secure their assets in a tax-deferred account, which, when compared to traditional retirement instruments, holds a relatively small risk. The 3 main reasons for a move to a gold IRA are as follows:
- 1. Portfolio Diversification: Diversifying your portfolio with the addition of physical gold.
- Hedge: Gold is the perfect counter against the influences of both inflation and deflation, holding its value and keeping your accumulated wealth protected and intact.
- Opportunity for Profit: With the continual growth and demand for gold and other precious metals, earning a profit on your gold investment is not unthinkable. It is called an investment for a reason.
Difference Between an IRA Rollover and a Direct Transfer
Once you have decided to switch to a gold investment, it helps to know some of the ins and outs to protect yourself from any excessive taxation costs.
Moving your funds to an investment in precious metals can be done by one of two methods: by direct transfer or a rollover, depending on the type of account that is held.
Direct Transfer – is a tax-free process involving the simple transfer of funds from one custodian to another. Since the transaction is tax-free, no declaration of income is necessary on your income tax return, and you can thus perform as many transfers as you like.
Rollover Process – allows for the whole or partial transfer of your retirement funds to another qualified retirement plan, a self-directed precious metals IRA, for example.
Provided that the funds are transferred from one holder to the next within 60 days, no additional taxation penalties will be incurred. A rollover can only be done once every 12 months.
Do You Need a Custodian?
The long and short answer here is yes, you do. Aside from the IRS mandate, operating through a custodian will give you greater freedom and flexibility, along with the expertise and professionalism that it requires to properly secure and manage your assets.
Investing in gold is a wise decision that is second to none. The long-term wealth-retention properties of gold can be relied on to secure your financial future and retain the value of the money that is going to carry you smoothly through your retirement. Why not change your retirement financial security and go for gold?
