When a pandemic, war or recession happens, investors look for investments that may perform or hold value during times of stress, like gold. Even if you don’t think any calamities are on the horizon, it’s worth looking into alternative investments for retirement planning.
This article will walk you through the ins and outs of a gold IRA kit, including the best gold IRAs and how self-directed gold IRA investing works.
Quick Look: Best Gold IRA Kits
- Best for Gold IRAs, New and Experienced Investors: American Hartford Gold
- Best for Exposure to Precious Metals: Priority Gold
- Best for Diversifying With Gold and Silver: Gold Gate Capital
- Best for Gold IRAs and Home Delivery Gold IRA: Red Rock Secured
- Best for Retirees Wanting Security Against Market Crashes: Lear Capital
Best Gold IRA Kits
Selecting the right provider is essential to assembling a gold IRA kit. A quality provider offers free gold IRA educational support to help you understand it. Some of the best Gold IRA companies include the following:
1. Best for Gold IRAs, New and Experienced Investors: American Hartford Gold
- Best For:Gold IRAs, New and Experienced Investorssecurely through American Hartford Gold's website
This family-owned company gives investors access to various silver and gold coins and a simple setup for a gold IRA kit. Additionally, investors can qualify for three years of free storage.
This site helps investors diversify their investments, protect themselves against economic uncertainty and get dedicated customer support. The company sells palladium, platinum, silver and gold bars and coins and assists its customers to set up IRAs invested in precious metals.
The company also helps investors shift their current IRAs into gold IRAs. The American Hartford Gold company is ideal for individuals seeking protection against inflation and retirement investors looking for tax breaks.
Pros
- Using this platform helps you protect yourself against inflationary events
- Because the company is not trying to sell you a product, you’re better able to gather information and learn about the sector
- Transitioning to a Gold IRA could be helpful for many retirees
Cons
- While the Gold IRA is very helpful, it’s not a guarantee of higher retirement income
2. Best for Exposure to Precious Metals: Priority Gold
Priority Gold offers gold buyers a reputation for reliability, price transparency and good old-fashioned customer service, along with 4-Step setup for a precious metals IRA that will help you plan for your retirement starting today.
With reasonable pricing and extremely knowledgeable customer service specialists, you also get an unconditional buyback guarantee on all metals, if needed — that also comes with expedited and insured shipping.
Pros
- The expert staff is prepared to answer any and all questions
- You can set up your IRA in just a few steps
- The platform helps you both prepare for retirement and collect precious metals
Cons
- Remember that more unique precious metals are not available
3. Best for Diversifying With Gold and Silver: Gold Gate Capital
- Best For:Diversifying With Gold and Silver in a Gold IRAsecurely through Gold Gate Capital's website
When you invest with Gold Gate Capital, you get more than 15 years of experience in the precious metals industry and access to precious metals IRAs.
Gold Gate Capital makes the process easy with:
- Fair pricing
- Unconditional zero-fee buyback commitment
- Massive selection of gold and silver
- IRS-approved storage facilities
- Gold IRAs
If you’re planning for retirement, this is a unique IRA kit to try that comes with the answers you need and the backing of a firm that has been in the industry for some considerable time.
Pros
- Direct access to experts helps you learn as you invest in precious metals
- You can store precious metals off-site without doing the work yourself
- There are tax advantages that Gold Gate can explain to you
Cons
- You may be confused by the pricing on these products
4. Best for Gold IRAs and Home Delivery Gold IRA: Red Rock Secured
Red Rock Secured assists investors in converting their retirement savings or current IRAs into precious metals like gold. The company seeks to simplify long-term investment in precious metals with its strong focus on customer support and investor education.
The firm pays for all deliveries needed for gold purchases, assists investors in diversifying their retirement portfolio and offers a seven-day protection policy. As an investor, you’ll get free one-on-one advice from the company and qualify (at no cost for life) into one of the safest investments in the market that savvy investors use.
The Red Rock secured company is ideal for investors who:
- Prefer diversification in their investment portfolio
- Want to purchase precious metals safely
- Need an easy way to purchase gold or other precious metals
Pros
- Because there’s an option for 1-to-1 support, you can get your questions answered by an expert, no matter how complex they are
- You can purchase a range of precious metals that allow you to diversify this part of your overall portfolio
Cons
- Even though the platform offers price protection, there are times when major price shifts occur outside the 7-day period
5. Best for Retirees Wanting Security Against Market Crashes: Lear Capital
- Best For:Retirees Wanting Security Against Market Crashessecurely through Lear Capital's website
Investing with Lear Capital allows investors to buy gold products such as Gold IRAs, international-grade bullion and gold coins. The company makes investing easy by waiving charges when you invest more cash. For instance, the firm waives an investor’s first year’s storage charges when you invest $25,000, and the second year’s charges are waived when you invest $50,000.
The company shows clients simple ways to diversify their investment portfolios and allows them to transfer their conventional IRA into a gold IRA penalty- and tax-free and seamlessly. Lear Capital also offers a price match guarantee and special offers to help you get value for your money.
The Lear Capital firm is ideal for investors looking for:
- A way to diversify their investment portfolio with precious metals
- Protection against global volatility
- A way to capitalize on gold price action in crises
- Premium rare numismatic coins
Pros
- The customer service team knows enough about the sector to help you understand what you’re investing in
- A waiver of certain storage fees can help you reinvest in your portfolio more over the first few years you use Lear Capital
- Price matching ensures that you can be rewarded for shopping around
Cons
- Once the firm is done waiving storage charges for you, those fees could shock you once you’re responsible for them
What’s a Gold IRA?
A gold IRA refers to an individual retirement account (IRA) that allows you to hold physical gold. Individuals usually invest in gold IRAs to diversify their investment portfolios and protect against inflation.
With a gold IRA, you can hold physical metals like coins, bullion and other precious metals-related investments. Gold IRAs are held separately from conventional IRAs even though the regulations involving distribution and contribution limits are the same.
An investor must have a self-directed IRA (SDIRA) administered by a custodian to hold gold in an IRA. Gold IRAs come with the same tax benefits as conventional IRAs. Since gold IRAs are self-directed, investors have greater control of their holdings and are responsible for making all the investment decisions.
What Types of Gold IRAs Exist?
Gold IRAs are a type of SDIRA that can invest in alternative investments. The main types of gold IRAs include:
- Traditional gold IRAs: Refers to retirement accounts funded with pretax money, meaning earnings and contributions grow tax-deferred. The withdrawals are usually taxed when an investor retires.
- Roth gold IRAs: These are contributions investors make to a Roth gold IRA kit and are funded with money already taxed; therefore, there’s no instant tax advantage. Investors contribute after-tax money so that they don’t pay tax on gains.
- SEP gold IRAs: Like conventional SEP IRAs, these are available to self-employed people and small business employees. Investors are taxed on their withdrawals once they retire instead of when they make contributions.
How Does Self-Directed Gold IRA Investing Work?
Self-directed gold IRAs are IRAs that can hold other investment products that aren’t accessible in Traditional IRAs. For instance, SDIRAs can hold silver and gold investments, artwork, conventional bonds, stocks and mutual funds.
A custodian is usually in charge of administering the account while the client manages the assets. Self-directed gold IRAs allow investors to invest in retirement on a tax-advantaged basis with IRS-specified contribution limits.
To open a gold IRA account, you must choose a custodian to hold the assets. The assets must go to an IRS-approved depositor, not a standard savings account. Brokerage companies usually act as IRA custodians; nevertheless, it’s challenging to find a brokerage firm that offers SDIRAs because of the nature of such investment accounts.
Banks and credit unions can also serve as custodians. Since SDIRAs are self-directed, the custodian can’t offer investment advice or assistance in selecting the right products to invest in.
Self-directed gold IRA investing is for those who wish to buy gold or other precious metals. As an investor, you direct the account and make all decisions, including the type of gold you want to purchase. The downside is that you need to make sure administrative requirements are met, but a solid provider can help with that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are gold IRAs a good idea?
Gold IRAs are a good idea as they allow investors to expand their investment portfolio while helping protect their accounts from market crashes.
Can you buy gold in an IRA account?
Yes, you can buy gold in an IRA account by either converting the money into a gold IRA account or withdrawing the cash to buy physical gold.