Have you considered investing less in paper money and more in precious metals? We will talk about converting 401k to Gold with a 401k to Gold IRA rollover. Essentially, a Gold IRA Rollover is when you transfer money from an existing account, in this case, a 401k, to a Gold IRA. You are transferring money between two retirement accounts with the help of a 401k to a Gold rollover company. Although we mentioned precious metals, a Gold IRA invests solely in Gold. It’s an excellent option for retirement, so let this be your 401k to Gold IRA Rollover guide. We’ll help you understand the basics and put you on the right path. Most importantly, we’ll help you go from 401k to Gold without penalty!
Why a Gold IRA Over a Traditional 401k
This is an excellent question; ultimately, it is up to you to decide which best suits your needs, but before you choose anything, it is crucial to consider the options. There are several ways in which a Gold IRA is superior to a more traditional 401k.
This is, of course, assuming that your employer offers a 401k plan. Unlike an IRA, available through various banks and personal brokers, 401k plans are only available through specific employers. Even so, switching from 401k to a Gold IRA would be best.
Some tax advantages come with a 401k account, but remember, since it was designed to be a retirement fund, you can incur severe penalties for taking money out early. It is good to know that you can take money out in a pinch, but you will get hit with a 10% early distribution tax and the standard income tax portion.
Avoid Fees with a Gold IRA
You typically do not need to worry about these fees when withdrawing from an IRA. In general, individual retirement accounts are far more accessible than 401k accounts. Furthermore, IRA accounts are not tied to any specific employer. Changing jobs for any reason, even multiple times, will not affect your IRA. It will expand as long as you make regular contributions to the account.
Then there is the gold aspect. Precious metals offer some of the safest long-term investments available. As mentioned above, metals like Gold appreciate as they become scarcer. Value can fluctuate, but not as dramatically as other forms of currency. Gold miners need to produce an amount that exceeds the demand for Gold to drop in value.
Many experienced investors use Gold to hedge against inflation. Gold has thousands of uses in many industries, so regardless of its monetary value, it will always be in demand at any given moment. Even when the economy is suffering or the stock market is having a terrible day, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that your Gold is unaffected.
How is My Gold Stored?
When you sign up with a 401k to Gold Rollover company, you are usually given a choice of three options. You can buy stock in gold companies or receive exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that follow a gold index. The third and most popular option among investors is to obtain actual gold bullion or coins. It is easy to see why this is the most popular option. Investors that choose gold IRAs are doing so to safeguard against massive fluctuations in currency, and having actual, genuine Gold is an easy way to do that.
Remember that you are not allowed to keep this Gold in your possession. Even if you would like to store it in a private vault, it must be stored in an IRS-sanctioned depository.
This must not be a bank unless the IRS approves the trustee. The service takes this so seriously that they warn potential investors to watch out for trustees who claim they can store their Gold at home. They consider this a major red flag when looking for a reputable trustee.
This does not mean you will never have your Gold in your hands. Once you are 59 and a half, you can liquidate or take possession of your precious metals. The second choice is a good one for people who want to leave metals as an inheritance.
How to Move 401k to Gold IRA
Don’t worry. Just because we wrote a 401k to Gold IRA Rollover guide doesn’t mean it’s a complicated process.
First, not all 401k retirement accounts allow you to roll over to an IRA account. That said, many of them do. Ensure you are eligible to move before you put too much time and effort into it. Your plan’s administrator will be able to tell you whether you can roll over or not and inform you of any procedures that need to be followed. Ensure you follow their instructions to go from 401k to Gold without penalty.
Your age and status with the company will factor into your account transfer. Rolling over to a Gold IRA should be simple if you are at least 59 and a half or at least 55 and no longer work for the company that provided your 401k account. However, a tax liability may be involved if you are 54 or younger and still employed with the company.
You are not necessarily out of luck if your 401k plan does not allow you to withdraw or transfer funds. Many programs have a “hardship withdrawal” exception at the administrator’s discretion. You can go forward with your new IRA if they offer the exception.
How much you transfer is up to you, though your Gold IRA will have minimum deposit requirements that need to be met. While some people transfer everything over, bypassing their 401k plan entirely, many prefer diversifying and keeping funds in both accounts.
A standard recommendation from financial planners is to commit roughly 10% of your investment capital to precious metals. However, it is ultimately up to you. Many diversify in several ways, including investing in multiple precious metals.
Direct and Indirect Rollovers
Once your Gold IRA is set up, it asks your 401k administrator to transfer the funds. The simplest method is called a direct rollover, in which the trustee of your 401k sends the money directly to the trustee of your Gold IRA. This is also the easiest way to go from 401k to Gold without penalty.
With an indirect rollover, your 401k plan trustee will give you a check for the amount you want to transfer. You’ll avoid penalties if you deposit that money into your Gold IRA within 60 days of withdrawal.
Note that with an indirect rollover, the check you are given will only contain 80% of the funds you request. The remaining 20% will be withheld by the 401k trustee, who will then send those funds to the IRS to cover any potential tax liability. However, it gets more complicated.
Even though you are only given 80% of the funds you requested, you must still deposit 100% of the amount you requested in your Gold IRA to avoid tax liabilities. You will have to make up the remaining 20% of your funds. Fortunately, if you deposit the funds within the 60-day limit and correctly follow all the procedures, you will get that 20% back when you file taxes for that year.
It is easy to see why most choose a direct rollover instead of an indirect one. Please keep it simple and choose an excellent 401k to Gold Rollover company.
The 2023 Gold IRA Kit
So now that you have the information, what do you do with it? A great idea would be to grab our 2023 Gold IRA Kit, which will help you protect your retirement—savings tax and penalty-free, of course—from financial storms, market crashes, and anything else that may put your financial future in jeopardy. Best yet, our kit is 100% free. If you sign up for our free 401k to Gold IRA Rollover guide right now, you can have it in your hands in as little as 2–3 days.
As a 401k to Gold Rollover company, we are proud of Goldco’s A+ BBB rating, AAA customer rating, and 1,000+ 5-star reviews, among several other accolades.
