Precious Metals
With inflation remaining problematic and fears of potential recession staying high, millions of Americans are nervous about their financial future. Many of them remember the disastrous 2008 financial crisis, which erased trillions of dollars of wealth that had been earned over decades, and none of them want to see a repeat..
That’s why more and more people are turning to gold as a safe haven asset to try to help protect their wealth, and especially to gold IRAs. If you’ve heard about a gold IRA and want to know how it can help you, it might help to know that there are five easy steps to start a gold IRA.
The first step to starting a gold IRA is to learn more about what a gold IRA is, what it does, and the many advantages of a gold IRA.
A gold IRA is nothing more than an IRA account that holds physical gold coins or bars. Many people with existing IRA accounts may not realize that IRA accounts can hold physical assets like gold, silver, commodities, and even real estate.
That’s because many IRA custodians don’t offer custodial services for those types of assets. But once you learn about the many assets that self-directed IRA accounts such as a gold IRA can offer, you may never think about IRAs the same way again.
Owning gold has numerous advantages, which is why so many people have trusted it as a safe haven asset. Here are three advantages of owning gold to keep in mind.
One of the primary advantages gold can offer is to diversify an asset portfolio.
Just think about how many people today may hold the majority of their retirement savings in stocks and bonds, or in various types of funds that own those same financial instruments. In the event of a severe financial crisis, those assets could all lose value at the same time.
Because gold is often considered a counter-cyclical asset, one that tends to rise in value when conventional financial assets fall, gold demand tends to grow when crisis or recession threatens. When a recession or financial crisis is feared, concerns over portfolio diversification may begin to rise.
Gold has also traditionally been seen as a hedge against inflation. Whereas the US dollar has lost 88% of its value since 1971, gold has gained nearly 9,000%.
It is this maintenance of its purchasing power versus the dollar over the long run that gives gold such appeal as an inflation hedge. Now that we live in an era of problematic inflation, that ability of gold to maintain its value may take on greater importance.
The last time we faced sustained long-term inflation, during the stagflationary 1970s, gold’s average annualized gains over the decade were over 30%. If inflation were to return to 1970s levels again, could gold repeat that performance?
The ability to hold physical gold in a gold IRA allows you to benefit from gold’s potential price appreciation and shelter those gains from taxation until you decide to take a distribution.
A Traditional gold IRA will accrue gains tax-free and you only pay taxes at distribution. A Roth gold IRA will accrue gains tax-free and you will pay no taxes with a qualified distribution.
Holding gold in a tax-advantaged account also allows you the option of helping protect your existing tax-advantaged retirement assets. By transferring or rolling over assets tax-free from a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar account into a gold IRA, you can help protect assets you’ve worked years to accumulate through a purchase of physical gold coins or bars.
The second step to starting a gold IRA is to choose a trusted gold IRA partner. If you’re going to be placing a sizable portion of your retirement savings into gold, you want to make sure that the partners with whom you work are trustworthy, dependable, and dedicated to customer service.
Starting a gold IRA in order to help protect your wealth is a major financial decision, one which you’ll want to discuss with your financial advisor and tax advisor. And you’ll want to do your homework when choosing a gold IRA company with which to work, such as looking at customer reviews.
With over 7,000 5-star reviews and over $3 billion in precious metals placements, Goldco has established itself as one of the best gold companies in the country.
As with any other IRA, your gold IRA assets will need to be managed by a custodian. Perhaps you’ve heard of a home storage gold IRA, an arrangement that purports to allow you to store gold IRA assets at home. If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is.
Your IRA assets need to be managed by an IRS-approved custodian. Attempting to store your gold IRA assets at home could potentially subject you to taxes and penalties.
Goldco works with established gold IRA custodians who have years of experience managing precious metals, making sure that the process of establishing your gold IRA runs smoothly, and that your gold IRA assets are properly managed.
Your gold IRA custodian will manage your gold IRA assets, and your assets will be stored at a bullion depository.
Goldco works with established bullion depositories who have vast experience storing precious metals. Even within these depositories there can be different levels of storage to ensure that your gold IRA assets remain as secure as possible.
Once you have chosen to work with a trusted partner like Goldco and established your gold IRA, the third step to starting a gold IRA is deciding on how to fund your gold IRA. This is where it is important to know and understand IRA rules and regulations.
Because a gold IRA is just like any other IRA, it is subject to the same rules and regulations as any other IRA. This includes the rules surrounding IRA contribution limits.
IRA contribution limits for 2025 are $7,000, or $8,000 if you’re over age 50. It’s important to remember that this limit applies across all your IRA accounts, not to each account.
These limits don’t apply when you’re funding an IRA by transferring or rolling over assets from another tax-advantaged retirement account into an IRA.
One popular method to fund a gold IRA is through a 401(k) rollover. Sometimes this may involve assets held in a previous employer’s 401(k) plan that are languishing, or assets in a 401(k) plan that doesn’t offer a wide variety of asset options.
A 401(k) to gold IRA rollover can be an effective way of putting existing retirement savings to better use. You can also roll over assets from accounts that are similar to a 401(k), such as a 403(b), 457, or TSP account.
If you have existing IRA accounts, you can transfer assets from those accounts into a gold IRA. With all rollovers and transfers you’ll want to make sure that these transactions occur in a timely manner, otherwise you could potentially expose yourself to taxes and penalties.
Before making a rollover or transfer you may want to meet with your financial advisor and tax advisor to run over all the rules and regulations, particularly with respect to the timing of these transactions and the depositing of funds into your gold IRA.
You also need to know that you can’t perform an unlimited amount of rollovers and transfers either. This is where the assistance of your financial advisor can be helpful.
Once you have decided how to fund your gold IRA, the fourth step to start a gold IRA is to choose which precious metals you want to buy. A gold IRA is a precious metals IRA, and you’re not limited to purchasing gold.
You can purchase gold coins or gold bars, silver coins or silver bars, and even platinum and palladium coins or bars.
Once again, you’ll need to know the rules regarding IRA assets. Not every gold or silver coin is eligible for purchase by a gold IRA.
If you try to purchase coins that are not IRA-eligible, it could be treated as a distribution and subject you to taxes and potential penalties.
The US tax code prohibits IRA accounts from owning collectibles, including coins. But certain coins are exempt from the prohibition on owning collectibles.
These include Gold American Eagle and Silver American Eagle coins, as well as any gold coin with a fineness of at least .995 or silver coin with a fineness of at least .999.
Numerous mints around the world produce these bullion coins so that people can purchase them through a precious metals IRA. Goldco works with many of these mints to bring you these IRA-eligible coins and ensure a steady supply of gold and silver bullion for you to hold in your gold IRA.
The final step to starting a gold IRA is to purchase the precious metals of your choosing. This might be the step that makes most people nervous.
One question many precious metals buyers may have is, is the gold and silver I’m buying authentic? That can especially be true if you’re a first-time precious metals buyer.
Purchasing precious metals coins through a trusted gold IRA partner could lessen the risk of purchasing counterfeit coins. Goldco, for instance, partners with mints around the world to purchase gold and silver coins directly from their producers, ensuring that the gold and silver coins you buy from us are 100% authentic.
If you were to buy coins from online marketplaces or from sellers with unknown reputations, you could be taking a gamble on whether or not you’re getting genuine coins. And if your retirement savings are on the line, are you willing to take the chance of buying anything less than guaranteed authentic gold and silver coins?
You’ll also want to make sure that the coins you want are available. Because Goldco has established relationships with mints, we are able to cut out middlemen, thus helping you get your hands on gold and silver quicker.
By working with numerous mints, we are also able to diversify our supply, thus helping mitigate the impact of potential supply shortages that could occur if demand for gold or silver coins increases significantly.
With over $3 billion in precious metals placements and thousands of satisfied customers, Goldco has established itself as one of the best and most trusted gold IRA companies in the country. Our track record and the reviews from our customers speak for themselves when it comes to our commitment to customer service and satisfaction.
We’re so certain that you’ll be happy with the gold and silver you buy from Goldco that we even offer our customers a buyback program if you aren’t happy with your purchase. Please contact your Goldco representative for details regarding Goldco’s buyback program.
Now that you’ve read about the five steps to starting a gold IRA, the next step is up to you. You can continue learning more about a gold IRA with Goldco’s numerous online resources.
Or you can give one of our precious metals specialists a call to learn more about the various gold and silver options Goldco offers.
With inflation continuing to take a bite out of your savings, and the potential for recession lurking in the background, now is the time to start thinking about defending your hard-earned wealth. Contact Goldco today to take the first step toward helping safeguard your savings with precious metals.
This article was originally published in September 2022 and was updated in July 2025.
After price gains of 65% for gold and 144% for silver in 2025, gold and silver prices could rise further in 2026 due to geopolitical instability driving safe haven demand Potential conflicts...
Key Takeaways After gold topped $5,500 and silver surged past $120, the recent price drops represent a "structural release valve" These pullbacks are a healthy part of price discovery Despite...
Gold and silver prices have a history of performing well during crises, rising 266% and 534% respectively from 2008 to 2011, versus 81% for the S&P 500 Gold prices rose 65% in 2025, while...
Request your Free Gold & Silver Kit today and see how you can get:
Applies only to qualified orders for new customers buying precious metals with cash savings. Get 5% back in FREE Gold or Silver plus $750 towards storage reimbursed in silver when you purchase a minimum of $15,000 to $99,999 in premium precious metals. Get 10% in FREE Gold or Silver plus $2,500 towards storage reimbursed in silver or a free safe (valued at $500) when you purchase $100,000 to $149,999 in premium precious metals. Get 10% in FREE Gold or Silver plus $2,500 towards storage reimbursed in silver and a free home safe (valued at $500) when you purchase $150,000 in premium precious metals. Storage reimbursement applies to precious metals being shipped directly to a storage facility. Cannot be combined with any other offer. One safe per customer. Additional rules may apply. Contact your representative to find out if your order qualifies. For additional details, please see your customer agreement. Goldco does not offer financial or tax advice.
