If your retirement account does not currently contain precious metals, you should consider the best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment. For example, if your current retirement account or investment plan is more predisposed to stocks, bonds or any asset attached to the dollar, you may at one point in time have thought about the possibility of converting part of it to gold bullion gold coins or gold bars as a way of protecting it against inflation, currency debasement and other forms of economic uncertainty with the best gold IRA rollover account.

Although simply transferring funds from an IRA to a Gold IRA is not a bad option, a gold IRA rollover is much more preferable, reason being that it is much safer and also a tax-advantaged strategy of moving your retirement savings. In this article, we are going to consider succinctly the individual steps involved in converting to the best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment.

How to Find a Trustworthy Custodian for the Best Gold 401k Rollover or Gold IRA Investment

Taking a cursory look and conducting a research into the background and business practices of any potential top gold IRA companies is pertinent for two main reasons:

First, you want to be sure your retirement savings are in safe hands, by safe hands I mean a certified and trustworthy company, not some scammers.
Second, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) only allows just one tax-free rollover of IRA funds per year and this rollover of the full amount of funds must occur within a maximum of 60 days of removing the funds from the IRA custodian you are using presently, so as to avoid penalty. If you choose a custodian that you will like to change later in the future, you will have to wait the full 12 months or face tax penalties on the money being moved.

The reputable and trustworthy gold IRA custodian you chose will be responsible to provide you with all the necessary paperwork and contact information you need to arrange the best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment. Having this paper work at hand ahead of the rollover date ensures that the money will be successfully transferred to the gold IRA rollover account within the 60 days period stipulated by the IRS. In some cases, the firm or individual in custody of your best gold IRA rollover account may choose to issue you a check for the full amount of your IRA and as such you will have to deposit the whole amount with the new gold IRA custodian. However, there might be some fees attached to the rollover of your current IRA and this should be well ironed out with your gold IRA custodian before any decision is made.

Check with Your Employer

Provided that you have a retirement plan through your current employer, it is advisable that you check with your employer first. Some employers have policies that do not allow gold investment as part of their 401k plan except you decide to quit the job. As a result of this, before you dive into the best gold IRA Rollover, it is quite important that you understand your employer’s 401k plan. Although there are ways around employer’s restrictions, it is helpful to know whether this will be a stumbling block prior to beginning the process.

Decide On Your Gold 401k Rollover or Gold IRA Investment Strategy

Before investing in the best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment, it is important to address some salient points.

For example: how you want to invest your funds and how your investment strategy affects your planning needs. At this point, an important question you need to ask yourself is: What is your main reason for investing in physical bullion?

Here are some likely reasons that can help you in answering the question and choosing the best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment:

Diversification / Protection: if at a point in time you feel your current portfolio is more inclined or predisposed to stocks, bonds or mutual funds, allocating 5 to 10% of your entire collection to precious metals can help in effectively diversifying and protecting your portfolio.
Loss of trust in the US dollar: if you have a feeling that Weimar catastrophe looms and as a result of this lost confidence in the dollar and other paper currencies, allocating about 10 to 20% of your portfolio won’t be a bad call.
Future Profit: like most high net worth investors, if you have a strong belief that the price of gold will reach $5,000 per ounce in the next few years, then investing more than 20% of your entire collection could generate tangible profits in the coming years.

It is important to remember that when investing through an IRA, IRS-approved bullion coins or bars are essentials.

More so, some IRA and 401k custodians also allow investors to utilize gold ETF’s, gold mining stocks or mutual funds. Although this type of investment does not require the presence of storage facilities as required by physical bullion, it should be noted that the Gold ETF is an investment in “paper gold” and not actual Physical Gold.

Finding a Reputable Gold Bullion Dealer

The final but the most important step in obtaining the best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment is finding a reputable and trustworthy gold bullion dealership.

You can find a gold IRA company with a good reputation, a competitive pricing schedule and IRA approved products by visiting our Top Gold IRA Companies Reviews and Gold Bullion Dealers table. Although you could decide to go to your local gold retailer, shopping online gives you a variety of options and potential to save. Most gold IRA custodians help the account holder to select the precious metals dealer from whom they will purchase their gold coins and gold bullion. A good hint for doing this is to look around for best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment companies that have a “buy-back program” and offshore storage facilities. Examples of such can be found in stable Asian countries like Singapore and Hong Kong.

NOTE: There are restrictions on gold coins and gold bullion.

The IRS has strict rules laid out when it comes to the types of gold bullions that can be invested in as part of an IRA. The coins involved must be minted at a minimum purity level of 99.9%, or more. This also includes the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, American gold & Silver Eagle, American gold & silver buffalo, Austrian Philharmonic, and other similar coins. The list also includes certain gold bars such as the credit Suisse gold bar.

Although there are some considerations involved in switching from a traditional IRA to the best gold IRA rollover, the merits and the prestige of adding gold to your investment portfolio make it worth the stress. Understanding the steps required to complete the best gold 401k rollover or gold IRA investment will help in making the process both simple and profitable as a way to protect your financial future.