How to Move Your 401(k) to Gold Without Penalty Retirement planning isn’t something that you start doing when you’re a few years away from retirement. It’s something you start as early in your career as you can. There’s no substitute for time in the market when it comes to building up your retirement savings. As you get older, you may start looking into more ways to protect the money you’ve already put aside for retirement. If you have a 401(k) from a previous employer that is sitting idle, or if your current 401(k) options don’t leave you enthused, a 401(k) to IRA rollover could offer you more investment options to put your money to better use. One popular 401(k) rollover option is to roll over 401(k) assets into a gold IRA.The rollover process can allow you to move your 401(k) into gold tax-free and penalty-free. A gold IRA is a type of self-directed IRA, an IRA that allows you to take greater control over your assets. Moving retirement savings into a self-directed IRA can give you the potential for more investment options like real estate, private bonds, private equity, and precious metals like gold and silver. Investing in precious metals is a popular option because gold and silver have been used as a time-tested means of storing wealth that can weather numerous economic changes, giving your portfolio diversity and stability. The price of precious metals often increases even in tough economic times, meaning that your portfolio can still get a boost even during the worst throes of a financial crisis. Like all 401(k) and other retirement plans, a gold IRA has rules and regulations that you need to be aware of. The last thing you want to do is decide to roll over your 401(k) and be hit with taxes and penalties because you didn’t do things correctly. So, how do you move your 401(k) to gold without penalty? This guide will help you understand what a 401(k) is, how it works, its benefits, and how to effectively roll over your 401(k) to gold without incurring taxes and penalties What Is a 401(k) Plan? Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code allows individuals to make contributions to a retirement account in a tax-deferred manner. This means that they will not be taxed on that contribution until they take a distribution (at age 59½  or later). The following guidelines about 401(k)s are set forth by the IRS: Employer matching is a valuable way for individuals to save additional money for retirement if an employer offers that plan, and some even refer to it as “free money.” If you’ve worked for multiple employers, you may have multiple accounts that aren’t being actively managed. Very often these orphaned accounts are automatically invested in “safe” investments that don’t make much money. It’s also important to remember that management fees and fund fees can still be taken out of your 401(k) even when you aren’t actively contributing. One way to avoid these situations is through a 401(k) rollover, in which you move assets from your 401(k) to an IRA. That has the added benefit of potentially broadening your investment choices. Like most IRAs, 401(k)s are subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs), which require investors aged 73 and older to take a specific amount in distributions each year. Without dedicated planning, RMDs could cause you to pull more money from your retirement accounts than you want, which could subject you to more taxes than you would like. What Are the Benefits of a 401(k) Plan? There are many more benefits to a 401(k) plan that include: To add to these benefits, you can consider a gold IRA rollover. Knowing how to roll over your 401(k) into a gold IRA means keeping all the great benefits of a tax-advantaged retirement account, plus the peace of mind of knowing that your assets can be secured with precious metals. Who Can Invest in an IRA? Anyone with earned income, and their spouses if married filing jointly, can start and contribute money to an IRA.You can contribute to an IRA even if you have a 401(k) or similar retirement plan at work. The only limit is to how much money you are able to contribute to your accounts. Types of IRA Accounts If you are eligible to start an IRA, there are numerous types of IRAs available. These include: Because these accounts provide tax benefits for retirement savings, there are an abundance of IRA investment rules that must be followed. These rules include requirements for contributions, withdrawals, and the types of assets that can be included in your portfolio. We’ll start off with some general IRA rules and then focus more specifically on self-directed IRAs and the gold IRA rules that you need to know to make the most of your investments. General IRA Contribution Rules The IRS sets contribution limits on IRAs, which must be followed in order to avoid penalties. The following guidelines will help you understand contribution limits for IRAs: IRA Penalties The IRS sets forth penalties for not following regulations dealing with retirement accounts. Here are a few IRA investing rules to be mindful of so you know how to move a 401(k) to a gold IRA without any penalties: Gold IRA Rules Investing in gold can be a great way to keep your portfolio diversified, but to take advantage of it and maximize your savings, you should be aware of the self-directed and gold IRA rules. First, it’s important to understand the rules that govern self-directed IRAs and acceptable investments as a whole. These include subsection 408(m) of the US tax code, which prohibits IRA accounts from acquiring collectibles and defines collectibles as: There are, however, exceptions made for some coins and bullion in subsection 408(m)(3), namely: In addition, If you already own gold, you cannot add that gold to your IRA. But you can open a gold IRA and purchase new gold to add to your IRA. Learn More About Diversifying Your Savings With The Ultimate Gold & Silver Guide Request

What Are the Benefits of a Gold IRA? If you’ve ever read mainstream financial media, you’ll notice that gold doesn’t seem to get mentioned all that often as a major investment asset. When the gold price takes off, of course, then the media is full of articles about how great gold is doing, but that’s too late for most people who could have benefited from gold’s price growth. Because writing about gold doesn’t bring in as many clicks or as much ad revenue as writing about the next hot growth stock, gold too often gets short shrift. But while many advisors and financial pundits may ignore gold, that could mean missing out on the many advantages that investing in gold can bring. As you work towards building a well-diversified investment portfolio, it can help to make sure you know all your options, especially when it comes to gold. Whether you’re interested in rolling over existing retirement savings into a gold IRA or just making direct cash purchases of gold, we’re here to clear up any mystery around the benefits of investing in gold. Precious metals like gold have numerous advantages as part of a well-diversified portfolio, and tax-advantaged retirement accounts do too. Putting the two together can result in a powerful tool to help you achieve your financial and investment goals. 5 Advantages of a Gold IRA Gold IRAs have numerous advantages for savers, both those nearing retirement and those earlier in their careers. The diversification that gold gives you may help you adjust the risk profile of your portfolio and may help you minimize losses. Investors who put gold into their portfolios during the 2008 financial crisis saw their investments strongly outperform those who kept their assets solely in stocks. And those portfolios that held gold continued to grow stronger after the crisis hit its lowest point, in many cases for years afterward. Let’s take a more detailed look at the advantages of a gold IRA. 1. Gold Can Help Portfolio Diversification A diversified portfolio may mean thinking outside the box of investing in stocks and bonds, which is what many Americans are most familiar with. Concentrating your investments in one place also concentrates your risk. Ever heard the saying, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket”? “Don’t put all of your eggs in on basket”? By diversifying your portfolio with gold, you can ensure that your assets aren’t completely at the mercy of Wall Street for their performance. If financial markets take a downturn, if bond markets become illiquid, if stock markets crash, those traditional investment assets may all perform poorly. Alternatives like gold IRA investing can leave a portion of your portfolio protected during challenging economic times, helping you diversify and shift risk away from financial assets and leaving a portion of your portfolio protected during those times when the stock market experiences weakness. Very often, the weaker the stock market and the economy perform, the better precious metals perform, potentially making them ideal assets to protect your portfolio when a recession is on the horizon. 2. Protection Against Market Fluctuations and Volatility Physical gold acts as a hedge against dips in volatile markets. The boom and bust of the business cycle is all but a certainty, with stock market crashes and recessions occurring with unfortunate regularity. Gold has acted as a hedge against other assets. Unlike paper assets like stocks and bonds that can become worthless as the companies that issue them fail, gold has always been worth something, and has remained in demand for thousands of years. 3. More Control Over Your Investments Investing in a gold IRA also can provide you with a greater element of control over your assets. For many people who may save for retirement through an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, the options available to them are often limited. That’s why so many people roll over assets from a 401(k) account to an IRA account, because IRAs generally offer more investment options. And with a gold IRA, the options for IRA investing become even greater. By opening a gold IRA, you can gain an extra element of control over your investment portfolio, as you are the one who determines what types of gold or silver you invest in. A great advantage of having a gold IRA is that assets can be transferred easily and without tax consequences among retirement accounts. So someone who wants to roll over a portion of a 401(k) account into a gold IRA can do so relatively easily. And if that person decides in the future to sell some of those precious metals assets to buy into stocks or bonds, that type of transaction can be done too. With the control over your investments that you get from a gold IRA you can: Learn More About Diversifying Your Savings With The Ultimate Gold & Silver Guide Request Your Free Guide 4. Potential for Gold Price Growth There’s a dirty little secret that mainstream financial firms don’t want you to know about: Gold is the best performing asset of the 21st century. In fact, it’s grown significantly more than stock markets have. But you’ll still see stocks recommended for asset growth rather than gold. Why? Well, there are two potential reasons: Financial advisors and stockbrokers want to be able to charge for each trade, plus take a small management fee every year for each type of asset you own. But if you own gold for years and years, they can’t charge you trading fees because your assets are safe, secure, and not moving. While gold investment may be bad for some financial firms, it’s good for you because your gains aren’t being nickeled and dimed to death through fees. With a gold IRA you’ll generally end up paying a few hundred dollars a year in custodial and storage fees. But compare that to the 1-2% annual fee you would likely pay to a financial advisor to manage your assets, which is on top of all your other expense ratios, and you see

What Is a Gold IRA? As a retirement saver, you’re constantly faced with choices and tradeoffs.  You want your retirement portfolio to make big gains, but you understand in the back of your mind that your portfolio can be subject to huge losses. Many successful savers are those who protect their portfolios from major losses, not necessarily those who make the biggest gains. As Warren Buffett famously said, “the first rule of investing is never to lose money, and the second rule is never to forget the first rule.” “The first rule of investing is never to lose money, and the second rule is never to forget the first rule.” One time-honored way of protecting investments against loss is by investing in gold. Investors have sought the safety and security of gold for centuries, and today is no different. When stock markets crash, or when fears of market weakness emerge, many investors rush to the safe haven of gold. But even outside times of financial difficulty, investing in gold can be a smart way to diversify your portfolio, protect your wealth, and make solid gains. One popular method of investing in precious metals is through a gold IRA. Gold IRAs offer the same tax advantages of conventional IRAs, but allow investors to protect their retirement savings with tangible physical gold, which can help safeguard them against volatility in financial markets. Given gold’s reputation for long-term stability, it is a sought-after asset for investors looking to protect and diversify their investments. If you’re looking to protect your retirement savings, ensure that you have enough to live comfortably in retirement, and pass money on to your heirs, keep reading our beginner’s guide to a gold IRA to find out more about the numerous advantages of a gold-backed IRA. What Is a Self-Directed Gold IRA? Unlike conventional IRAs with which you may be familiar, a gold IRA is a type of self-directed IRA. Before we address gold IRA investing, it is important to understand the basics of a self-directed IRA. A self-directed IRA (SDIRA) is an IRA that gives you greater control and flexibility over the assets you invest in. It allows you to invest in alternative assets that aren’t found in most conventional IRAs. While self-directed IRAs require the use of a custodian who administers the account, you as the account holder actually get to manage the account directly. Some common forms of alternative investments allowed in a self-directed IRA include: A gold IRA is simply a type of self-directed IRA that focuses on investing in precious metals such as gold coins and gold bars. How Does A Gold IRA Work? A gold IRA allows investors to invest in gold and other precious metals while still enjoying the same tax advantages of an IRA retirement account. Just like conventional IRAs, a gold IRA can be a traditional IRA in which investors use pre-tax dollars to invest in gold, or a Roth IRA in which they use post-tax dollars to invest in gold. Those with SEP or SIMPLE IRAs can also invest their retirement savings with a gold IRA. A common method of funding gold IRAs is through rollovers or transfers from existing retirement accounts such as a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar account into a gold IRA. This allows investors to lock in gains they may have made in their current retirement accounts and transfer that wealth into precious metals, which can provide more protection and stability. Gold is a tangible asset that anyone can own and hold, and it offers stability against inflation, financial turmoil, and economic downturns. Thanks to provisions in the tax code, investors can invest in gold through a gold IRA, allowing them to gain all the same tax benefits as a conventional IRA. There are many advantages to including gold, silver or other precious metals in your IRA portfolio, including: Investors can contribute to a new gold IRA account or, more commonly, roll over a portion of their current retirement accounts (401(k) rollover) into a gold IRA to diversify their portfolio. With the risk of recession being ever present, there really isn’t a bad time to consider precious metals like gold as an investment. What Is a Gold IRA Rollover? A rollover IRA is a term for an individual retirement account (IRA) that is funded by moving funds from a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, or similar retirement account into an IRA. The main difference between a 401(k) and an IRA is that an IRA is normally opened by an individual, whereas a 401(k) is offered by an employer. With a rollover IRA, investors can use existing retirement funds to take advantage of a broader range of investments than are available through 401(k) investments alone. And by investing in a self-directed IRA, you have even more options for investments, such as a gold IRA. Rollover IRAs are most often created when changing jobs or retiring, as they allow employees to move their current 401(k) or other retirement account balances into an IRA account that will offer a better array of investments and potentially superior performance. When performing an IRA rollover, funds from existing tax-advantaged accounts can be rolled over into a new IRA tax-free. You can even roll over funds from multiple retirement accounts into a single self-directed IRA, making it easier for you to consolidate and manage your retirement savings. With a gold IRA rollover, investors can minimize the tax impact of their gold assets too, since distributions are normally subject to ordinary income tax rates. Particularly for those in lower tax brackets, that can result in gold held in an IRA being taxed at a lower rate than if it were not in an IRA. And for those investors who invest in a Roth gold IRA, they won’t be taxed at all on the gains on their gold investments. What Is a Self-Directed IRA Custodian? Like any other IRA, your self-directed gold IRA needs to have a custodian per IRS regulations. Your gold IRA custodian is responsible for administering your account and

Why Should You Buy Gold Everyone wants their retirement portfolios to perform, but along with the prospect of gains comes the risk of loss. Protecting your portfolio can mean not only making smart investment choices but also diversifying your portfolio with more than just stocks and bonds. One way you can do that is by buying gold, silver, and other precious metals. Gold and silver have served as safe havens and stores of value for centuries, and their value today continues to rise. With the same advantages as conventional IRAs, gold IRAs help protect retirement savings from volatile markets. 3 Primary Reasons to Consider Adding Physical Gold to Your Portfolio Include: 1. Portfolio Diversification You can diversify your portfolios with a variety of assets like stocks and bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs. But you can also invest in gold and other precious metals through a precious metals IRA. Because of gold’s safe haven status, investors flock to physical assets during uncertain financial times, which can cause the price of gold to rise even when markets are declining. That can make gold a good choice for a well-diversified portfolio that gives you the stability you need during tough times. 2. Hedge Against Volatile Markets Market volatility can impact your savings and investments. But a volatile market doesn’t mean you have to give up investing and protecting your assets. In fact, owning gold in your portfolio or protecting your tax-advantaged savings with a 401(k) rollover could help you manage the ups and downs that come with a fluctuating market. 3. Gold Holds Its Value Gold can be a good choice during good times and bad. It maintains its purchasing power over time, and can outperform other investments during times of economic uncertainty. If you’re looking for something that can help safeguard your wealth from the unknowns, consider looking into a gold IRA. Learn How to Safeguard Your Retirement Savings with Gold If you’ve been struggling to find a safe way to protect your retirement savings, a precious metals IRA could be the answer. No matter how many years you have until retirement, it’s never too late to start planning and investing. Traditionally, IRAs have been a safety net for people without access to employer-sponsored plans like a 401(k). By buying gold through a precious metals IRA, you get the same tax advantages as any other IRA, but with the added security of owning physical gold. If you’ve been considering buying gold as an investment, we know there’s a lot to learn. From the numerous benefits, to the rules for investing in gold, our Beginner’s Guide to a Gold IRA Guide is a one-stop resource to get the information you need to start making smart decisions with precious metals.