Precious Metals
Over the past few years, much of the peace and tranquility Americans took for granted seems to have been upended. The post-COVID era, rather than returning to the normal so many people longed for, seems to be one of continual upheaval.
From the highest inflation in 40 years, to a shocking election year that saw multiple assassination attempts, to punitive tariffs, and now to war in the Middle East, it seems that every year brings with it new and unexpected economic and geopolitical turmoil.
Americans today are wrestling with financial uncertainty as the economy increasingly grows K-shaped, with wealthy Americans continuing to prosper while middle class Americans face a bleak future.
Recession fears were already high. But add in rising geopolitical tensions that could send oil and gas prices higher for a long time, and you have a recipe for economic stagnation.
It’s no wonder, then, that Americans are increasingly looking for ways to help safeguard their financial well-being, looking to help protect themselves against an uncertain future. And one way they’re doing that is by acquiring safe haven assets like gold.
One popular method of acquiring gold is through a gold IRA. If you’ve never bought gold before, or aren’t familiar with precious metals products, trying to get started with a gold IRA may seem a little daunting. But a gold IRA isn’t difficult to start, and it can give you many potential benefits.
If you don’t already know what a gold IRA is, it’s an individual retirement account (IRA) that owns physical gold coins or bars. Most people who hold IRAs or who know about IRAs know that IRAs can hold stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other similar commonly held financial assets. But relatively few people know that an IRA can also be used to acquire tangible physical assets like gold.
There are two types of gold IRAs, and your decision to start either one will depend on your financial situation and financial goals.
The more common type of gold IRA is a Traditional gold IRA. This type of IRA buys gold with pre-tax dollars.
Gains in a Traditional IRA accrue tax-free and taxes are only paid when you take a distribution. As with any Traditional IRA, a Traditional gold IRA requires you to start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 73.
Any distributions made before you turn age 59½ could incur a 10% penalty in addition to any income taxes you owe.
A Roth gold IRA is treated just like any other Roth IRA. It acquires gold with post-tax dollars, gains accrue tax-free, and qualified distributions are tax-free.
You can withdraw contributions from a Roth IRA at any time, but earnings cannot be withdrawn until you’re age 59½ and you’ve satisfied the five-year holding rule.
Once you reach age 59½ and have satisfied the five-year holding rule, distributions on earnings from a Roth IRA can also be made tax-free.
Gold IRAs, whether Traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs, can have numerous benefits. Some of these benefits are specific to gold IRAs, while others are some of the general benefits that can come from owning gold.
Let’s take a look at ten potential benefits of starting a gold IRA.
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Benefits of Gold or Gold IRAs |
Description |
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Gold can help diversify your portfolio. |
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Gold has been a trusted safe haven asset for centuries and is one of the first assets people turn to during times of financial uncertainty. |
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Gold holds its value even as the dollar declines, with the gold price having risen over 13,000% since 1971 while the dollar has lost 88% of its value. |
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Gold IRA accounts offer tax-free growth, and you only pay taxes when you take distributions. |
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Gold has been valued throughout time and around the world and is a highly valued asset in many societies. |
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Gold markets are highly liquid and operate around the world nearly 24/7. |
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The gold price rose 65% in 2025 and has set numerous record highs in 2026. |
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Gold is a tangible, physical asset. |
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Gold is an extremely portable store of value. |
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Gold IRA assets are held safely and securely in a bullion depository. |
Portfolio diversification is one potential benefit of owning gold. Gold is often considered to be a countercyclical asset, one that performs well even when the economy isn’t.
As such, gold is often held for portfolio diversification purposes, to help offset losses that may occur elsewhere in the event of a market downturn. Whether you start a gold IRA or buy physical gold to store at home, owning gold can serve your diversification needs.
Speaking of downturns, one of gold’s most important characteristics is that it serves as a safe haven asset during times of uncertainty and fear about the future. We’re witnessing that right now, as more and more Americans are trying to buy gold in order to help protect their financial well-being and protect themselves against geopolitical and economic risks.
Gold has also traditionally been viewed as a hedge against inflation, thanks to its ability to maintain its purchasing power over time despite high inflation. In fact, during the stagflation of the 1970s the gold price grew at an annualized rate of over 30% per year over the course of the decade, far outpacing inflation.
If inflation were to return with a vengeance today, gold owners would certainly hope that gold might repeat that same strong performance.
One major advantage of a gold IRA is its tax-advantaged status. Many gold IRA customers choose to fund a gold IRA by transferring or rolling over funds tax-free from a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar retirement account.
This allows you to help safeguard your existing retirement savings without having to distribute assets and take a potential hit from taxes and penalties.
Gold is an asset that is recognized around the world. India and China are the world’s largest consumers of gold. China and Russia are among the world’s largest gold producers, along with Australia, South Africa, and others.
Almost anywhere you go in the world, gold is recognized as a store of wealth and a safe haven asset. Gold markets are highly liquid and operate around the world nearly 24/7.
This universal acceptance of gold makes gold one of the true universal assets.
Because of gold’s nearly universal acceptance, there are gold markets operating around the world constantly. Gold is traded 24/7 around the globe, making it one of the most liquid assets there is.
Gold’s liquidity does come with the occasional drawback. In 2008, for instance, gold lost about 30% of its value over the course of the year at the same time as markets were tanking. That’s because people who needed to come up with quick cash were selling their most liquid assets to drum up money. Since gold is highly liquid, it was one of the first assets to get liquidated.
Thankfully gold turned around after that and went on to set record highs. But it’s a reminder that being such a liquid asset can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
Gold isn’t just an asset that can help protect you during times of economic uncertainty. It’s also an asset that can help you even when markets seem to be doing well. Since 2001, gold has gained value at an annualized 12.5% rate of growth, versus 6.14% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 6.66% for the S&P 500.
Over the even longer term, since President Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, gold has gained at an annualized rate of 9.2% per year versus 7.57% for the Dow Jones and 8.06% for the S&P 500. This demonstrates gold’s ability to build wealth over the long term, one of many reasons it has remained so popular as a safe haven asset.
In the modern financial system, most of the assets we have are digital. We may be able to go to the ATM and pull out some physical cash from our bank accounts, but most of our transactions are done digitally without ever touching physical assets.
While this is convenient for everyday life, there are times when people want the safety and security of something tangible. With digital assets held in bank accounts, retirement accounts, and brokerage accounts, it can sometimes feel like your financial well-being is nothing more than a house of sand.
Gold can help combat that feeling, as the gold you own in a gold IRA is a real, tangible asset. And if you decide to buy physical gold and have it shipped to you, or if you decide to take a distribution in gold from your gold IRA, you can hold that physical gold in the palm of your hand.
If you take physical possession of your gold, you’ll understand the advantages of gold’s portability. Gold is an incredibly compact store of wealth.
You can hold $100,000 of gold in the palm of one hand. $1 million of gold can fit in a purse or small bag, and you can carry that gold anywhere you want to.
With a gold IRA, you can help protect your existing retirement savings by rolling them over or transferring them tax-free into a gold IRA. And in some cases you can even transfer that money back to your originating accounts, or transfer it into another IRA account.
This can give you additional flexibility and can allow you to move your funds around as you see fit, owning the assets you want to.
Like any other IRA, the assets in your gold IRA are managed by an IRA custodian. And because of the physical nature of your gold assets, your gold IRA assets will be stored at a bullion depository. This means that your precious metals assets will remain safe behind multiple layers of security.
With over $3 billion in precious metals placements and over 8,000 5-star reviews from our customers, Goldco has helped thousands of Americans benefit from owning gold. If you’re interested in buying gold, or learning more about the benefits of owning gold, call the precious metals specialists at Goldco today.
This article was originally published in March 2023 and was updated in March 2026.
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