If you have decided to set up your Gold IRA account then you must already be aware of why people opt for a rollover. The added investment options available with a gold IRA are one of the primary motives of choosing rollover.
The actual process of performing a 401(K) rollover is not that complicated but one that requires some carefulness to make it go smoothly. First of all the investors need to contact their fund managers to make sure that their 401(K0 can be rolled over into a self-directed IRA without any legal complications. Sometimes employers place a restriction on the rollover or transfer and do not allow their employees to perform such a transfer therefore it is always wise to check with your fund manager beforehand.
Once you have made sure that there will be no legal issue in the transfer then you will firstly need to choose a Gold IRA company.
How To Store Precious Metals In Your Gold IRA
In order to purchase precious metals with your retirement investment, you will first need to set up your self-directed IRA or Gold IRA and for this purpose, you will need to choose a Gold IRA company, now there is a plethora of Gold IRA companies available in the market. Some of them are old and trusted, some of them are new companies trying to make a space in the market whereas some of them are simply scams.
You will need to carry out proper due diligence to choose the Gold IRA company of your choice. As we have mentioned before, there are a lot of companies to choose from and every company offers something different to attract the customers. What you need to look for in a good and trusted company that you can trust with your retirement savings. Look for a company that can quickly set up your Gold Ira and doesn`t charge you an arm or a leg for everything that you do. Most companies will charge some sort of amount for providing their services but do not fall for anything that seems too good to be true.
Ideally, you will need to look for a company that is a well-settled name in the market, has got overall good testimonials and ratings from different investment rating agencies and has got a customer care support that focuses on solving the issues of the customers and guiding them instead of pitching different products. When you are carrying out due diligence, you can simply call up different companies and see if their customer care representatives really know what they are talking about or are there to pitch you different products. The mark of a good company is that their representatives will be knowledgeable and try to answer your questions instead of making you sign up for different services.
Another key area to look for is their legal and technical support, ideally, the Gold IRA companies should have legal and technical experts to make sure that the transfer or rollover process is completed without any hindrance or issue, if a gold IRA company lacks a credible legal and technical team then it is a big red flag and you should think twice maybe thrice before choosing such a company as your Gold IRA manager.
The 401k To Gold IRA Rollover Process
Once you have chosen your Gold IRA company, you will need to set up your Gold IRA rollover. Depending on the company you have chosen, this process should not take more than 2-3 business days. Usually, the Gold IRA company will ask for your credentials, do a background check and after filing up a few forms either online or on telephone your self directed IRA or Gold IRA will be ready.
Now assuming that you have checked up with your fund manager for any legal complexities, transferring or rolling over your funds into your Gold IRA should be a straightforward process. There are two main ways through which funds can be transferred from a 401(K) to a Gold IRA.
The funds can either be directly transferred through a bank or wire transfer, this is the quickest and easiest way to transfer the funds or the funds can be “rolled over”. A rollover simply involves the investor taking the retirement savings out of the 401(K) and then depositing them in the Gold IRA account. What is the difference? Rollover gives the investors 60 days to carry out the whole transactions, so investors get 60 days to use their retirement savings. Sometimes people invest their savings for a month to generate a little income or the amount can be used for any other purpose but it should be deposited in the Gold IRA account before60 days are up otherwise the savings (which are basically pre-tax savings) will get charged with penalty and fines and no longer remain tax-exempt.
Once the rollover is complete, the investors can move on to the next step and that is looking for a trusted and reliable gold custodian. Banks, trade unions and brokerage houses can legally act as custodians of your gold. IRS laws do not allow investors to physically hold their gold, the gold that is bought through a self-directed IRA must be held with a gold custodian. Once again, investors need to be skeptical and carry out proper due diligence before they choose a custodian. Remember you are going to trust your custodian with your retirement savings, so it is essential to find a custodian that can be trusted.
Custodial Fees
Custodians usually charge annual storage fees for storing your gold, some even allow visits to see your gold but most custodians have all of their gold in a central depository that is not accessible for most of the customers, some companies, however, have depositories in multiple cities, making the gold much more accessible.
Once you have chosen your custodian, you are all ready to purchase your gold through your savings and get your retirement savings hedged and protected from economic certainty.
