When it comes to protecting your retirement account against market volatility and inflation, a gold IRA may be one of the best options at your disposal.
A gold IRA, also called a precious metals IRA is a specialized, self-directed individual retirement account designed to hold physical gold and silver, and other precious metals. Just like traditional IRAs, a gold IRA allows pre-tax contributions, meaning that the investment earnings can accumulate tax-deferred.
A gold IRA differs from a traditional IRA in the sense that it strictly holds physical gold, silver, or other metals. In uncertain times like these, it is more important than ever to turn to assets that help you hedge against inflation and other economic uncertainties to help strengthen your wealth.
Opening up a gold IRA account has many benefits, and can, for example, help you:
- Hedge against a weaker dollar and inflation
- Limit exposure to economic uncertainty
- Mitigate the effects of geopolitical instability
- Diminish negative fallout from the coronavirus economic crisis
- Diversify your portfolio
- Take real ownership of your financial future
Top 3 Gold IRA Companies For A Safe Investment
In this guide, we’ve reviewed and rated the 3 most reputable gold IRA companies in the industry to help you identify the best option to protect and grow your wealth today.
We’ve rated each gold IRA company on a variety of factors including ratings and complaints, annual fees, precious metals selection, storage options, buy-back programs, and customer reviews.
#1. Goldco: Best Overall Gold IRA
Goldco is our top choice for the best gold IRA company of 2022. We believe that the company has earned its spot as the leading and most trusted provider of precious metals IRAs in the United States.
For one, Goldco’s mission is to help Americans protect their retirement savings accounts from stock market volatility and inflation through the use of precious metals, which they have successfully been doing for over 15 years now.
The company’s specialty has always been the sale and delivery of premium gold and silver coins that are IRA-approved, and in helping you identify which precious metals are right for you.
Second, Goldco offers unmatched customer service and an easy and free IRA rollover, where an IRA Specialist at Goldco holds your hand from start to finish.
Also, their low annual fees, highest buy-back guarantee, A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau and AAA rating by the Business Consumer Alliance makes them the best and safest option to open up your gold IRA account.
Additionally, Goldco was honored as the Company of the Year in the 2021 American Business Awards. And in March this year, Sean Hannity also endorsed Goldco and supports the company’s growth initiatives to educate people about the benefits of buying gold and silver, as well as protecting their IRA, 401(k), TSP, or pension accounts with physical precious metals.
New Client Promotions Goldco
- Get Up to $10,000 in FREE Silver (If Opening Up a Qualifying IRA)
- Investment Minimums Gold IRA: $20,000-$25,000
- Investment Minimums Cash Sales: $3,500
#2. Augusta Precious Metals: Most Trusted Gold IRA
Next on our list of the best gold IRA companies comes Augusta Precious Metals. The company truly lives up to being the most trusted gold IRA company in the US.
First of all, they have an excellent track record with thousands of top ratings. They also have hundreds of top reviews on watchdog sites like TrustLink, as well as an A+ BBB rating and a AAA rating with the BCA.
As a matter of fact, Augusta has been named “Most-Trusted Gold IRA Company” by IRA Gold Advisor and received “Best of TrustLink” 6 years in a row.
Then there’s the fact that Augusta is endorsed by hall of fame quarterback and multimillionaire Joe Montana. He asked his personal financial team to find the best gold IRA company, and they found Augusta for him.
He attended the company’s unique one-on-one web conference and became a customer. Joe loved the company’s mission so much that he also became the company’s paid corporate ambassador.
What also stands out is that the company offers the most unique approach to customer education via its personal one-on-one web conferences designed by on-staff Harvard-trained economist Devlyn Steele.
To conclude, Augusta Precious Metals has a well-oiled process for making your gold IRA rollover or transfer stress-free and easy together with IRA Specialists you can trust.
New Client Promotions Augusta Precious Metals
- Get Up to 10 Years of Fees Reimbursed to Your IRA in Premium Silver Coins (Depending on the Size of Your Account)
- Investment Minimums Gold IRA: $50,000
- Investment Minimums Cash Sales: $50,000
#3. Birch Gold Group: The Gold IRA Specialist
Third on our list comes Birch Gold Group. With almost two decades in business, we can safely state that Birch Gold Group is an established and reputable gold IRA company.
Like the previous gold IRA companies, they have an A+ rating with the BBB and an AAA rating with the BCA. They’ve also managed to earn thousands of 5-star reviews, with more than 12,000 clients across the US.
The company’s educational, no-pressure sales approach and easy and stress-free gold IRA setup, makes them an excellent choice for gold IRA company.
In addition, Birch Gold Group has been endorsed by Ben Shapiro and featured regularly in major news and media outlets.
This partnership allows the public to learn more about their retirement savings options since Mr. Shapiro’s thoughts are that …”it is foolish not to have some assets in the one area of human activity that has never been worth zero.” Mr. Shapiro even helped bring to the fore the option to rollover an IRA or eligible 401(k) into an IRA backed by physical gold and silver.
Lastly, Birch waives all setup fees for new accounts over $50,000, plus shipping fees on all cash purchases of $10,000 and more. Not to forget, their buy-back program makes it easy to liquidate your metals when it is time to sell.
New Client Promotions Birch Gold Group
- Get Up to $10,000 in FREE Precious Metals on Qualified Purchases
- Investment Minimums Gold IRA: $10,000
- Investment Minimums Cash Sales: $10,000
What Is A Gold IRA?
What Is A Gold IRA?A gold IRA, also called a precious metals IRA is a specialized, self-directed individual retirement account designed to hold physical gold and silver, and other precious metals.
Starting a gold IRA is one of the best things you can do to protect and grow your retirement savings and hedge against rapidly increasing inflation. Just like traditional IRAs, a gold IRA allows pre-tax contributions, meaning that the investment earnings can accumulate tax-deferred.
A gold IRA differs from a traditional IRA in the sense that it strictly holds physical gold, silver, or other metals. In contrast to a gold IRA, a regular IRA typically holds paper assets such as stocks, bonds, EFTs, funds, and so forth.
Benefits Of A Gold IRA
In uncertain times like these, it is more important than ever to turn to assets that help you hedge against inflation and other economic stresses to help strengthen your wealth.
Opening up a gold IRA account has many benefits, and can, for example, help you:
- Hedge against a weaker dollar and increasing inflation
- Limit exposure to economic uncertainty
- Mitigate the effects of geopolitical instability
- Diminish negative fallout from the coronavirus economic crisis
- Diversify your portfolio
- Take real ownership of your financial future
2 Different Principal Types Of Self-Directed Gold IRAs
There are two types of gold IRAs available:
1. Traditional-Based Gold IRA
With a traditional-based IRA (Self-Directed-IRA or SDIRA), you do not pay tax on the contributions you make to your gold IRA from your income until much later in retirement when you take distributions. And you can start taking distributions without penalty when you are age 59½.
To give you an example, if you make $60,000 one year and decide to contribute $5,000 into your gold IRA, you will only pay the tax that year on $55,000.
In addition, by the time you pay tax on that $5,000, the gold you have spent it on could well be worth a lot more. And this possible rise in asset value could mean that you will end up getting some of your tax bills effectively paid for free.
Also, a traditional IRA comes with a ‘Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)’, starting at the age of 72, meaning that you must withdraw a certain amount from your IRA each calendar year. Accordingly, this RMD also applies to a gold IRA.
2. Roth-Based Gold IRA
In contrast to a traditional IRA, with a Roth-based gold IRA, the contributions you make are NOT tax-deductible.
But on a positive note, when you make withdrawals from your gold IRA, you do not have to pay taxes on your investment gains. So, if the price of gold has increased significantly, this tax advantage may be a huge benefit.
Additionally, with a Roth-based gold IRA, the Required Minimum Distribution does not apply. Instead, an upper-income limit applies to Roth IRAs. And as of 2022, your modified annual income must be less than $144,000.
How To Fund Your IRA
Opening a gold IRA is great, but having it funded with an existing plan is even better. All gold IRA companies listed in this article assist with performing rollovers of various kinds, including:
- The full or partial rollover of a 401(k) or similar retirement account
- The full or partial rollover of a 401(k) or similar inactive retirement account
- Rollovers of less common plans and accounts, such as SIMPLE or SEP IRA
When working with any of these gold IRA companies, rollovers are not as troubling as they may seem. The rollover is handled by a specialist on behalf of the custodian company, as well as any administration that the gold IRA company may employ.
And the new gold IRA can be funded by several IRAs or receive only part of the funds that would go into another IRA.
Moving The Money Into Precious Metals
With an average setup time of 10 days, the next big choice to make is which precious metals that will go into it.
1. IRA Eligible Bullion
One of the first things to get informed on is whether the precious metals you have in mind for your IRA are eligible for placement. The IRS issues strict guidelines on what is considered IRS-eligible precious metals and what is not and sticking to them should not be an issue.
Doubts about your purchase should be easily cleared by the gold IRA company of your choice’s IRA specialists.
Though these gold IRA companies also sell bullion for use outside of IRAs, including but not limited to non-IRA-eligible bullion, we will mostly be focusing on their IRA offering.
As a general rule, any precious metal coin or bar of a high enough purity has the makings of an IRA-eligible asset. The purity requirements start with 0.995 in the case of gold and become more strict as we move on to other metals.
2. What Are Some Popular Bullion Choices For A Gold IRA?
There are some staples that have made it into IRAs time and again, partly due to their IRS compliance but also because they represent the very best in the form of gold and other bullion.
American Eagle Gold and Silver coins are an example of a series with a lot of width and variety that continues to refresh IRA inventories. Bars from reputable refineries of all four precious metals are other popular additions.
Here’s a sample of some popular bullion choices:
- Gold or Silver American Eagles
- Gold or Silver American Eagles (Proof Coins)
- Gold or Silver American Buffalos
- Gold or Silver Canadian Maple Leafs
- South African Gold Krugerrands (Not IRA Eligible)
- Gold or Silver Austrian Philharmonics
- Silver America the Beautiful Coins
- Gold or Silver Bullion Bars
- American Silver Eagles
- And more.
Image Source: goldco.com
There is a bit of competition going on between both sovereign and private mints, if not stated. A general rule is that everyone wants their mint to run up to sovereign standards. National mints are focusing on designing the new icon, be it the American Eagle or the Canadian Maple Leaf.
Private mints are focusing on further solidifying their reputation. After all, it has become the norm for bullion holders to prioritize items from a private mint due to its reputation.
Storage: Where Will My Gold Bullion Rest?
IRS regulation has mandated that the bullion in your IRA rests with a certified depository, an entity separate from the custodian who will manage your daily paperwork.
And most gold IRA companies offer several storage options. But if none of them are what you find suitable, you can introduce a depository of your own to the mix, provided it is compliant with regulations.
For example, Brink’s, the Delaware Depository, and IDS are fairly similar. While only IDS among the three offers segregated storage, all three have a similar set of bonuses:
- A standalone facility where the bullion is processed
- Both the facility and its vaults are managed using the best technology available to the depository
- They have security measures like high-defense vaults and electronic systems
- Adding to that, their assets are insured with a multi-fold policy
Managing The Precious Metals In Your Account
After the account is open and funded, getting started can feel a bit prohibitive. Even the die-hard gold investor might find some disagreements over the coin denomination to invest in.
Those with less intent can succumb to external factors more easily, and in finance, these are always within arm’s reach.
All precious metals fulfill the same purpose in your account relative to other assets. More than likely, they are a form of hedge and were bought with safety in mind. But relative to each other, precious metals can have very varied utility.
Reasons for wanting your gold IRA to include:
Gold
Gold- The most defensive of the four and the safest pick. Gold has the least volatility to the downside, therefore often lacking explosive price action. It behaves remarkably in any crisis scenario, even when the setting is unprecedented.
- The industrial aspect is present but limited. Though gold has plenty of utility and uses in manufacturing in a range of industries, it is mostly viewed as an investment metal. Even those buying gold jewelry often think about its pricing in weight down the line.
- The widest range of investment options, in an IRA and outside it, and the most represented of the precious metals. Collectors and IRA investors alike will be strapped for choice when picking items from the inventory.
Silver
Silver- On the precious metals scene, oftentimes gold’s opposite. It is always both a safety play and a defensive one, as the metal never leaves this role on a broader scale. But within the precious metals spectrum, silver behaves differently from gold despite following its price.
- Those who buy silver do not do it because it is cheaper than gold, as the saying goes, but because of its specific range of benefits. The metal has a huge manufacturing side, with green technology growing more popular. Any significant impacts in demand from the manufacturing sector would greatly benefit silver’s price.
- A similarly varied range of investment options to gold, including many new and old coin varieties that can either be held in an IRA or outside it. Gold and silver both have a very pronounced sector of coin enthusiasts compared to the other two precious metals.
Platinum & Palladium
Platinum & Palladium- Within the context of precious metals, these could be considered industrial metals. They are every bit as volatile as silver but for different reasons. Palladium’s valuations exceed gold’s these days. Meanwhile, platinum, historically gold’s equal in price, sits around roughly half it.
- Both platinum and palladium have a strained mine supply. Not a lot is being mined, and mining is highly localized. In palladium’s case, for example, nearly 40% of annual production comes from one country. This has contributed to the metal soaring to new all-time highs. Despite a dearth of supply, technologies making use of both platinum and palladium are on the rise.
- One might think that platinum and palladium will have few investment options, but that is not the case. Besides a range of bars, plenty of investors are interested in sovereign coins made from either platinum or palladium.
What Kinds Of Fees Will My Gold IRA Have?
Those opening a gold IRA can expect to pay around $300 the first year and under $200 annually the following years.
The IRA fees include:
- An initial setup fee of $50
- Annual admin fees of around $80
- Annual storage fees of $100 for non-segregated storage and $150 for segregated storage
Additionally, you can expect your IRA to have a necessary starting balance between $10,000-$50,000, depending on the gold IRA provider.
All gold IRA companies we’ve reviewed in this article also offer a buy-back program in case you want to liquidate your precious metals. And our top choice of gold IRA provider, Goldco, offers the highest price buy-back guarantee on the market.
Final Thoughts: Building A Gold IRA That Lasts
When it comes to your retirement, a gold IRA can help you diversify, protect, and grow your retirement savings account, as well as help you hedge against a weaker dollar and increasing inflation.
Even though your current investment situation and future goals are all unique, each of these gold investment companies has the expertise and knowledge to help you achieve the retirement of your dreams.
So, start by requesting any of these companies’ gold IRA information, and a representative will reach out to you and provide you with all the information you’ll need to make the best investment choice for your future.
Not only do we provide a 
