But with growing uncertainty about the potential for recession, many of these workers are wondering how safe their money will be in the coming years.

This growing uncertainty is driving many people to buy gold. Gold has a long history as a safe haven asset during times of economic turmoil, and its performance this year in setting record high prices has reawakened in many people’s minds the benefits of owning gold to help protect your wealth.

One popular method of buying gold today is a gold IRA, an option that many people were once unfamiliar with. But as more people start looking at ways to own gold, the existence and benefits of a gold IRA are becoming more readily apparent.

3 Key Takeaways

1. A gold IRA is a type of IRA account that allows you to own physical gold coins or gold bars while still enjoying the same tax advantages as any other IRA account.
2. Gold IRAs are often funded through rollovers or transfers of funds from existing retirement accounts into a gold IRA.
3. Gold IRAs are subject to the same rules and regulations as other IRA accounts, including requirements that all IRA assets be managed by an IRA custodian.

What Is a Gold IRA?

If you’re not familiar with a gold IRA, you’re not alone. Many people think of IRAs as accounts held at brokerages or through employer-sponsored retirement plans.

They may not be aware of the existence of self-directed IRA accounts such as a gold IRA.

A gold IRA is nothing more than an IRA account that owns and holds physical gold coins or bars. It gives you the benefits of ownership of tangible, physical gold, while simultaneously offering you the same tax advantages as any other conventional IRA account.

How Does a Gold IRA Work?

A gold IRA works just the same as any other IRA account. Once you make the decision to open a gold IRA, you can work with a trusted partner like Goldco to fund your gold IRA and use your assets to buy gold coins or bars.

Many people choose to fund their gold IRA via a rollover or transfer of assets from their existing 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar retirement accounts. These rollovers or transfers normally occur tax-free, allowing you to protect your wealth with physical gold.

Gold IRA Rules

A gold IRA is subject to the same rules and regulations as any other IRA. If you’re not familiar with IRA rules and regulations, you may want to consult with your financial advisor or tax advisor to make sure that your decision to open and fund a gold IRA doesn’t inadvertently expose you to taxes and penalties.

Here are five important aspects of gold IRA rules to keep an eye on.

1. Annual Contributions

Right now, a gold IRA follows the same rules and regulations as other IRA accounts, meaning that your maximum annual contribution to a gold IRA (aside from rollovers or transfers) is $7,000, or $8,000 if you’re over age 50.

Future contribution limits are indexed to inflation, and often increase every year or two.

2. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

You also must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 73 if your gold IRA is a Traditional gold IRA. If your gold IRA is a Roth gold IRA, you don’t need to take RMDs.

3. Early Withdrawal Penalties

Like other IRA accounts, there can be penalties for taking early withdrawals. These will follow the same rules as other IRA accounts.

The primary differences to note are those between Traditional and Roth gold IRA accounts. In a Traditional gold IRA, most withdrawals before age 59½ will incur taxes and penalties.

Roth IRAs are a little more complicated. Contributions to a Roth IRA may be withdrawn tax-free and penalty-free at any time.

Earnings within a Roth IRA can be withdrawn tax-free and penalty-free once you reach age 59½ and have held your account for at least five years. Withdrawing before you reach age 59½ or before you have satisfied the five-year rule can subject you to taxes and penalties.

Of course, there are exceptions to these rules too, such as withdrawals to pay for a first-time home purchase, education expenses, medical expenses, etc.

If you feel the need to dip into your IRA for emergency spending, it can help both to familiarize yourself with IRA withdrawal rules and to consult with a tax advisor to see what impact a withdrawal might have on your taxes.

4. IRA-Eligible Gold

A gold IRA can only acquire certain types of gold coins and bullion. These include the Gold American Eagle series of coins produced by the US Mint, and any gold coin or bar produced to a fineness of .995 or higher (99.5% gold).

As beautiful as older gold coins can be, most of them are not IRA-eligible since their gold content often is only 90% or sometimes 22 karat. Attempting to buy Krugerrands or older UK sovereigns with gold IRA assets, for example, would be considered a distribution of IRA assets and could result in you having to pay taxes and penalties.

Goldco partners with mints around the world to bring our customers IRA-eligible gold coins that are guaranteed to be 100% authentic, enabling you to buy gold coins with engaging designs that also satisfy IRS requirements for acquisition by a gold IRA.

5. Managed by a Custodian

A gold IRA is also required to be managed by a custodian, and your assets will be stored at a precious metals depository. Goldco partners with experienced gold IRA custodians and gold depositories who have significant experience in the precious metals industry.

Home Storage Gold IRA vs. Regular Gold IRA

That last rule is perhaps one of the most important ones to keep in mind.

If you’ve been looking into buying gold through a gold IRA, you may very well have come across something called a home storage gold IRA. A home storage gold IRA purports to be a gold IRA that allows you to buy gold with a gold IRA and store that gold at home.

Just imagine that you can set up a gold IRA, use pre-tax dollars to buy gold coins, make tax-free gains, and hold all of those gold coins at your home. It almost sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? And that’s because for most people it is.

The Internal Revenue Code has pretty strict requirements when it comes to IRAs. In particular, 26 U.S.C. 408(a)(2) requires of IRA trustees that: “The trustee is a bank (as defined in subsection (n)) or such other person who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the manner in which such other person will administer the trust will be consistent with the requirements of this section.”

So in other words, if you’re not a bank already (and who is?), you’ll have to prove to IRS that you’re capable of acting as an IRA trustee. And what defines being capable according to “the satisfaction of the Secretary”?

Well, thankfully IRS provides a list of 10 criteria you’ll have to meet in order to become a non-bank trustee or custodian. They include:

• Having a net worth of at least $250,000;
• Ensuring that all employees performing fiduciary duties are bonded to at least $250,000;
• Demonstrating fiduciary experience or expertise with retirement plans;
• Showing a high degree of solvency;
• Demonstrating experience in accounting for a large number of people;
• Demonstrating experience in handling retirement funds; and
• Documenting rules of fiduciary conduct.

Those criteria put the ability to start a “home storage gold IRA” out of reach of all but the wealthiest and most dedicated individuals. IRS even has a list of approved non-bank trustees, with a total of just under 70 operating throughout the entire country.

So could you become your own gold IRA trustee? Maybe. But the hurdles are so high that most of the non-bank trustees are large corporations, not individuals.

You wouldn’t know that from some of the advertising you’ve probably seen online, which make it seem that a home storage gold IRA is perfectly legitimate and easy to achieve.

What really happens, if you try to do it without knowing what you’re getting yourself into, is that you potentially open yourself up to taxes and penalties for violating the laws and regulations surrounding gold IRAs.

That’s why if something you read about a home storage gold IRA seems too good to be true, it probably is. And that’s also why consulting with your tax advisor and financial advisor, and working with trusted partners like Goldco, can help keep you from getting yourself into a difficult situation.

4 Benefits of Owning Gold

Don’t let any of this dissuade you from buying gold, however. Even if a home storage gold IRA isn’t an option, a regular gold IRA can offer you the benefits of owning gold, and do so in a way that can help you protect and defend your retirement savings.

Here are four of the potential benefits that come with owning gold.

1. Hedge Against Inflation

One of the major benefits of owning gold is that gold has traditionally acted as a hedge against inflation. During the 1970s, for instance, gold’s average annualized gains were over 30% per year, at a time when inflation peaked at over 13% and stock markets gained about 13% for the entire decade.

With inflation remaining problematic today, that ability of gold to protect against inflation is once again in high demand.

2. Store of Value

Gold has also traditionally been trusted to act as a store of value. Whereas the US dollar has lost 87% of its purchasing power since 1971, gold’s purchasing power has remained relatively steady, and its dollar price has increased by over 8,000% since then.

Many people expect the gold price to continue rising in the future, as the threats of recession and stock market corrections could help push the gold price ever higher.

While it may seem fantastical to think of gold at $4,000 or $5,000 an ounce, 20 years ago people might have laughed at $1,000 gold, yet here we are at well over $3,000 an ounce for gold.

3. Safe Haven Asset

Gold’s status as a safe haven is reaffirmed every time a crisis threatens. From Russians worried about sanctions, to Germans worried about the euro, to Britons worried about Brexit, to Americans worried about a potential stock market downturn, people flock to gold the moment the future becomes uncertain.

They know that in a world dominated by paper assets and paper wealth, being able to fall back on tangible physical assets provides safety and security that is almost incalculable. And when it comes to physical assets that serve as safe havens, gold remains a trusted asset.

4. Portfolio Diversification

If diversifying your portfolio is one of your goals, gold can be an important part of that diversification.

Many people think that owning a broad index fund or holding a variety of stocks and bonds is enough diversification for a portfolio. But holding only financial assets like stocks and bonds can leave you at risk in the event of a systemic crisis.

In 2008 we saw that wide classes of assets lost value, including stocks, bonds, and even normally safe assets like money market mutual funds.

Is tying up 100% of your wealth in assets that depend on Wall Street’s health and performance for their value the diversification you’re looking for?

This is where gold can come to play a role. Whether you’re putting 5% or 50% of your portfolio in gold, gold can help you diversify your portfolio and adjust the risk profile of your assets.

And with a gold IRA, you can diversify your existing retirement savings with physical gold while retaining the same tax advantages you currently enjoy.

Is a Gold IRA Right for You?

The decision to buy gold is a personal decision that’s up to each individual. Whether or not to buy gold, and how much gold to buy, very often depends on your state in life.

How long you want to own gold, how close you are to retirement, how much income you’ll need after you retire, and your overall risk tolerance are all factors that can play a role when you think about buying gold.

Thousands of people today have made the choice to buy gold because they see an uncertain future ahead of them. If you’re worried about the future, and you want to maintain as much of your wealth as you can, maybe it’s time for you to start thinking about gold.

Goldco’s precious metals specialists have helped thousands of people just like you through the process of buying gold. They’re ready to answer any questions you have about gold IRAs, gold coins, and the process of rollovers and transfers.

It’s never too late to help protect your hard-earned retirement savings. So call Goldco today to learn more about how owning gold can benefit you.

This article was originally published in April 2022 and was updated in July 2025.

The post Gold IRA Storage At Home: What You Should Know appeared first on Goldco.

These fears are one reason that so many people have started to buy gold as a safe haven to help protect themselves. One popular method of buying gold is through a gold IRA.

Gold IRAs have grown in popularity in recent years as more people have become aware of them and of the advantages they offer. But there are still numerous questions surrounding a gold IRA, particularly with regard to how a gold IRA transfer works.

Goldco has helped thousands of customers over more than a decade benefit from owning gold in a gold IRA, and our specialists can help answer any questions you may have. Read on to find out more about how a gold IRA transfer works.

3 Things to Consider

1. A gold IRA is a type of self-directed IRA that allows you to own physical gold coins or gold bars in a retirement savings account.
2. Funding a gold IRA is often done through rollovers or transfers from existing retirement accounts into a gold IRA.
3. Gold IRAs offer all the same tax advantages as any other IRA account.

What Is a Gold IRA?

If you’re not familiar with a gold IRA already, it’s a really simple concept. A gold IRA is just like any other IRA except that it owns physical gold coins or bars.

Most people who hold tax-advantaged retirement accounts like a 401(k) or IRA may only be familiar with owning conventional financial assets like stocks, bonds, or shares of various funds. They may not be aware that an IRA can also own physical assets.

A gold IRA is a type of self-directed IRA, an IRA in which you, the owner, make the decision about which assets to acquire. Aside from a small list of prohibited assets, there really isn’t much that an IRA can’t acquire.

Gold, silver, real estate, commodities, etc. are all among the assets that an IRA can own. And a self-directed gold IRA is perhaps the type of self-directed IRA that is gaining more acceptance today.

Advantages of Owning Gold

Gold offers numerous advantages to savers, which is why it has been trusted as a safe haven asset for centuries. Here are four advantages of owning gold.

1. Portfolio Diversification

Gold is often considered a counter-cyclical asset, one that performs well when markets aren’t, and so it is often held as an asset to help protect wealth when potential crises or recessions loom.

Recommendations on how much gold to hold as diversification are often all over the place, from a few percent up to large double digit figures. That’s why it’s important to talk to your financial advisor to see how gold fits into your savings and retirement goals.

2. Inflation Hedge

Gold is also often owned as a hedge against inflation. Because gold maintains or increases its purchasing power over time, owning gold can help your assets maintain their value even when inflation threatens to erode your wealth.

Since President Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, gold has increased in price by over 8,000%. Compare that to the US dollar, which has lost 87% of its purchasing power since then.

The last time the US experienced sustained high inflation, during the stagflation of the 1970s, gold’s annualized gains were over 30% over the course of the decade. That kind of performance is why so many people are turning to gold as an inflation hedge once again today.

3. Tax-Advantaged Growth

Gold can also help provide tax-advantaged asset growth, particularly through a gold IRA. Owning gold in a Traditional gold IRA allows you to accrue gains tax-free and only pay taxes when you take a distribution. And if your gold IRA is a Roth gold IRA, you don’t pay taxes on qualified distributions.

4. Wealth Accumulation

Gold isn’t just an asset that helps protect you against a rainy day. It can provide significant growth potential even when markets are also doing well.

Since 2000, gold prices have risen faster than market indices. And with so many headwinds facing the economy today, there looks to be significant potential for gold to continue growing even further in the future.

Starting a Gold IRA

Starting a gold IRA doesn’t have to be difficult. The process isn’t that much different than starting any other IRA, and it begins by working with trusted partners like Goldco who can help you navigate the process.

Funding a Gold IRA

Perhaps the most important aspect of a gold IRA, like any other IRA, is deciding on how you are going to fund it. Since a gold IRA is just like any other IRA, it is subject to the same annual contribution limits that face any other IRA account.

For 2025, the annual contribution limit to IRA accounts is $7,000, or $8,000 if you’re over age 50. But these limits don’t apply when you are funding an IRA through a rollover or transfer from another tax-advantaged retirement account.

This makes the rollover or transfer process a popular method of funding a gold IRA. The 401(k) to gold IRA rollover is perhaps one of the more popular and well-known gold IRA rollover methods, but you can roll over funds from a TSP, 403(b), 457, or similar retirement account too.

You can also choose to transfer funds from an existing IRA account into a gold IRA. Goldco’s specialists can help answer your questions about whether your existing retirement account assets are eligible for a gold IRA transfer.

The Gold IRA Transfer or Rollover Process

The transfer or rollover process can be done seamlessly if you know what you’re doing. Because the gold IRA transfer process involves moving funds from one tax-advantaged account to another, the process is able to be done tax-free.

But if you don’t follow the rules, you may inadvertently open yourself up to taxes and penalties. That’s why you may want to consult with your tax advisor or financial advisor before making a decision.

Transfers vs. Rollovers

Transfers and rollovers both involve moving funds from one tax-advantaged account to another.

A rollover in common parlance normally refers to moving funds from a 401(k) or similar account into an IRA account like a gold IRA.

A transfer normally refers to moving funds from an IRA into another IRA account.

A 401(k) to gold IRA rollover is one of the more common forms of gold IRA transfers, due to the near ubiquity of employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans. Sometimes employees who switch employers leave their old 401(k) plans orphaned at their old employer, where the funds can be held in low-yielding funds.

A 401(k) to gold IRA rollover can be one way to move those retirement savings so that they can be put to better use owning assets that you actually choose or help control.

A gold IRA transfer from another IRA account is another way to help protect existing retirement savings. These gold IRA transfers can be from either a Traditional IRA or from a Roth IRA.

A gold IRA transfer from a Traditional IRA could be transferred to a Traditional gold IRA or a Roth gold IRA if you choose to do a Roth conversion, while a gold IRA transfer from a Roth IRA would be transferred into a gold Roth IRA.

Tax Implications

A gold IRA transfer is normally a tax-free process. In order to remain free from potential taxes and penalties, the money must be transferred within 60 days from the retirement account from which you are funding your gold IRA into your gold IRA account.

If you fail to move that money into your gold IRA within 60 days, it would be treated as a distribution and would be subject to any potential taxes and penalties.

Gold IRA Transfer Timeline

Goldco has extensive experience helping our customers with the gold IRA transfer process. We can help you work with your current 401(k) or IRA custodian to make sure that the process goes seamlessly.

While most gold IRA transfers occur with no difficulties, there is always the possibility of communications getting crossed, paperwork going missing in the mail, or other difficulties.

Our specialists have seen many of the possible issues that crop up and can help work with you to make sure that you’re able to transfer your funds into a gold IRA and buy gold as quickly as possible.

Gold IRA Rules

It’s important to remember that a gold IRA is subject to the same rules and regulations as any other IRA.

You’ll want to talk to your financial advisor or tax advisor to make sure that you’re familiar with these rules so that you don’t expose yourself to potential taxes or penalties when you make your gold IRA transfer.

Types of IRA Assets

Like all IRA accounts, a gold IRA is forbidden from owning collectibles. This means that only certain gold coins are eligible for acquisition through a gold IRA.

Any gold coin considered a collectible is not eligible for ownership through a gold IRA, and attempting to use IRA funds to purchase collectible coins would be considered a distribution, which would subject you to possible taxes and penalties.

Among the IRA-eligible gold coins are American Gold Eagle bullion coins, as well as any gold coin with a minimum fineness of .995. If you’re already familiar with common bullion coins such as Krugerrands, Austrian 100 Corona coins, or pre-1933 American circulating gold coinage, you may be disappointed to find out that these coins are not eligible for ownership through a gold IRA.

Fortunately there are many choices available when it comes to IRA-eligible gold coins, with new coins and designs coming to market all the time. Goldco has established relationships with mints around the world, guaranteeing that the gold coins you buy are 100% authentic.

Contribution Limits

A gold IRA is subject to the same annual contribution limits as other IRA accounts. For 2025, this limit is $7,000 per individual, or $8,000 if you are over age 50.

You also have to factor in income limits for Roth IRAs, as well as income limits for tax-deductible contributions to Traditional IRAs. But if you’re funding your gold IRA transfer with assets from an existing retirement account, these contribution limits won’t apply to that transfer or rollover.

Tax Advantages

A gold IRA offers the same tax advantages as any other IRA account. If your gold IRA is a Traditional gold IRA, you would fund it with pre-tax dollars and pay taxes when you decide to take a distribution.

If your gold IRA is a Roth gold IRA, you would fund it with post-tax dollars and wouldn’t pay taxes when you take a qualified distribution.

Because a gold IRA transfer allows you to move your existing retirement assets into owning gold without requiring a distribution and tax payments, you can purchase physical gold coins or gold bars without having to worry about a tax hit. A gold IRA is just one more tool in the arsenal when it comes to helping to maintain your wealth.

RMDs

The same rules governing required minimum distributions (RMDs) apply to a gold IRA just as they do to any other IRA.

For a traditional IRA, this would mean that you would have to start taking RMDs at age 73. For a Roth IRA, no RMDs are required during the lifetime of the original account holder.

Custodian and Depository

As with any other IRA, the assets in a gold IRA must be maintained by a custodian. You may have heard of a so-called “home storage gold IRA” that purports to allow you to store your gold IRA assets at home.

It sounds too good to be true, because it is, and could subject you to taxes and penalties. That’s why it’s always good to consult with your financial advisor and tax advisor before making a move that could result in taxes and penalties.

When you initiate your gold IRA transfer, the assets you use to fund your gold IRA will be transferred into a gold IRA account that is managed by an IRA custodian. Goldco partners with established custodians who have significant experience managing precious metals IRA assets.

Once you purchase your gold coins with the funds from your gold IRA transfer, the metals you purchase will be stored with a bullion depository. Goldco works with experienced depositories to ensure that your gold IRA assets remain safe and secure.

Gold IRA Benefits

Owning gold through a gold IRA can offer numerous potential benefits. Here are three of them.

1. Diversification

It’s probably safe to say that many, if not most, 401(k) and IRA accountholders don’t know about a gold IRA. They may believe that they’re limited to just the asset options offered by their workplace 401(k) plan or their IRA custodian.

But a self-directed gold IRA allows them the option to diversify their portfolios with assets like precious metals that their current plans don’t offer. And that diversification could help them during periods of market volatility and economic uncertainty.

2. De-Risking or Risk Adjustment

A gold IRA can also be a useful tool in adjusting the risk profile of your assets. Gold is a generally stable asset with less volatility than some other assets, which is why so many people have trusted it as a safe haven and store of value during times of crisis.

3. Asset Preservation

Finally, gold’s safe haven properties make it one of the assets people flee to first when markets start showing distress. During the 2008 financial crisis, for example, gold gained 25% during the same period that markets lost more than 50%.

Is Gold Right for You?

The decision about whether gold is right for you is yours to make. It all comes down to your unique circumstances, your goals, and what you plan to do with your money. And consulting with your financial advisor is always a good idea.

More and more Americans are turning to gold today to help safeguard their savings, with high interest rates, stubborn inflation, and fear of potential recession all weighing on the potential future growth of markets.

If you’re worried about the future and want to help protect your hard-earned wealth, maybe it’s time to start thinking about a gold IRA. The last thing anyone wants is to see a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, or a repeat of the 1970s stagflation.

But a return of either of those scenarios could result in financial hardship for millions of households and take a real bite out of their savings.

Thousands of Goldco customers have found peace of mind through buying gold, and there’s nothing they trust more to help protect their wealth.

With over a decade of experience, over 7,000 5-star reviews from our customers, and over $3 billion in precious metals placements, Goldco’s specialists have what it takes to get you on track to help protect yourself with gold.

Call Goldco today to learn more about how gold can benefit you.

This article was originally published in September 2022 and was updated in July 2025.

The post Everything You Need to Know About a Gold IRA Transfer appeared first on Goldco.

TSP has many advantages, among them the G Fund, which is guaranteed never to lose money, as well as the ultra-low management fees the TSP funds charge. But like many defined contribution plans, TSP’s investment options are limited.

Many current and former federal employees often wish that they had more flexibility in their investment options and could put their TSP funds to better use. That’s where a TSP rollover can come into play.

Rolling over funds from a TSP into an IRA can offer you a wider range of asset options. Whether you’re opening a rollover IRA at a brokerage firm or opening a self-directed gold IRA to buy precious metals, the rollover process is largely the same.

In either case, rolling over funds to an IRA can open up your investment possibilities. Here are the three easy steps to rolling over your TSP into an IRA.

1. Open an IRA

The first step in your TSP to IRA rollover is to open up an IRA account. This means finding an IRA custodian who will manage your account.

For the purposes of this guide, we’ll assume that you’re going to roll over either all or part of your TSP account into an IRA. We’ll also assume that you want to do a direct rollover from your TSP account to an IRA account. This way you can make that rollover tax-free.

If you were to make an indirect rollover, in which the money is sent to you first, you would have 20% taken out of your rollover to pay taxes and you would have to make that money up when you deposit it into your new IRA account.

Indirect rollovers add an extra layer of complexity and expose you to potential tax consequences, which is why many people opt for the direct rollover.

If you’re opening an account with a brokerage firm, the brokerage firm will normally be your custodian. If you’re starting a self-directed gold IRA or silver IRA to purchase precious metals, you’ll need to find a custodian that manages precious metals IRA assets.

Goldco works with experienced IRA custodians who have helped numerous customers manage their gold and silver IRAs.

Once you’ve opened the IRA account that will be the destination for your TSP funds, you’ll need to add that account information to your TSP account. When you log in to your TSP account, you’ll click on the profile icon at the top right of your browser window (it looks like a little person inside a circle).

Underneath “My Profile” you’ll see an option for “Financial Institutions” which you’ll click on. From there you’ll be prompted to add the name of your financial institution (i.e. your IRA custodian), the type of rollover you want (in most cases this will be to a Traditional IRA), the IRA account number, and the address to where TSP should send funds.

This may not be the same as the standard mailing address for your IRA custodian, so you may need to clarify with your custodian where funds should be sent.

It’s important to note that this account information must be on file with TSP for at least seven days before you begin your TSP rollover. Make sure that you get this information correct, as changing information or adding a new account will reset that seven day clock.

Once you’ve entered your IRA account information, set a reminder so that you can come back in seven days to start your rollover.

2. Determine How Much Money to Roll Over

While you’re waiting, you can determine how much of your TSP you want to roll over into an IRA. This might vary depending on whether you’re still working for the government or if you’re retired or otherwise separated from government service.

Some people want to get out of the TSP entirely and roll over all of their funds into an IRA. Others may only want to do a partial rollover. And some others may want to roll over most but not all of their TSP funds.

Why might you not want to roll over all of your TSP funds? Well, there’s the safety net of having the G Fund available, as well as the low fund costs of the TSP’s other funds.

Maybe you’ll find that your IRA fund fees are higher than you expected, or that the performance of your IRA assets hasn’t matched that of the TSP’s funds. In that case you might kick yourself if you’ve transferred all your funds, especially if you’ve left government service.

Once you’ve separated from the government, you can keep your TSP account open as long as it has a minimum balance of $200. And TSP accepts inbound rollovers from IRA or 401(k) accounts at any time, although there are some exceptions when it comes to Roth accounts.

Familiarize yourself with those options, as maintaining your TSP account might be worth it just to have another backup. And be sure to discuss your rollover plans with your financial advisor before making any decisions.

3. Execute Your TSP to IRA Rollover

Okay, you’ve waited seven days to start your TSP rollover and you’ve determined how much money you want to roll over. Now’s the time to start your rollover.

You’ll log into your TSP account and navigate to “Withdrawals and Rollovers Out”. You’ll have a choice between making a partial distribution from your TSP (minimum of $1,000 distribution) or a total distribution from your account.

Let’s assume for the sake of this example that you’re making a total distribution, i.e. moving all of your funds out of your TSP.

When you click on total distribution you’ll move to Step 1 and will be asked how you want to receive your withdrawal. You can roll over funds to an IRA or an employer’s 401(k), you can have a partial rollover with an amount paid to you, or you can have the full amount paid to you.

If you choose the rollover option, you’ll be prompted to select IRA, Roth IRA, or Employer Plan. If you choose the partial rollover option, you’ll be asked the same thing. If you choose to have the full amount paid to you, you’ll be warned that you may have to pay taxes and a 10% penalty.

Let’s assume once again that you’re rolling over the full amount to an IRA. Once you’ve chosen to roll over funds to an IRA, you’ll make your rollover choices in Step 2.

You’ll be shown your requested withdrawal amount, which in this case is the entirety of your TSP. Then you’ll select the amount you want to roll over.

You can select “All of the Cash Available”, “Specific Amount”, or “No Cash”. If you select either of the latter two options, you’ll be hit with 20% withholding and may have to pay taxes or penalties. If you’re looking to roll over to an IRA, you’ll want to choose “All of the Cash Available”.

Then you’ll be shown your total payment in Step 3. The “Gross Cash Payment” is the amount you’re withdrawing from your TSP. If you are rolling over everything to an IRA, the “Gross Cash Payment” and “Rollover” sums should be identical, and the amount shown under “Federal Withholding” should be zero.

If the “Federal Withholding” sum is not zero, and you’ve intended to do a direct rollover, back up because you’ve made a mistake. And remember, while this process is intended to be performed by an individual TSP account holder, if you’ve never done a rollover before it can seem confusing and intimidating when you first do it.

If at any time during the rollover process you aren’t sure what you’re doing, don’t be afraid to stop and leave the TSP website and ask your financial advisor for assistance, or call TSP and ask to speak to a representative to assist you with the rollover process.

It’s far better to ask for help and be sure of what you’re doing so that you do everything right rather than make a mistake and open yourself up to potential tax consequences.

Step 4 is to read about the rights associated with your rollover payment. Once you click that you’ve received and reviewed the information, you move to Step 5.

At Step 5 you choose the destination for your rollover. You should see your IRA custodian listed here and you will select that option. You’ll also see a notice that your institution should receive a paper check 10 calendar days after the payment has been processed.

From there you’ll move on to review everything in Step 6, and complete the rollover in Step 7. The steps for partial distributions, in which you only withdraw a portion of your funds, is largely similar.

But again, if your intent is to roll over your TSP funds directly to an IRA, the most important thing to remember is that the “Federal Withholding” sum in Step 3 is zero. That ensures that the entirety of your rollover is being deposited into your IRA.

And again, if at any point you are confused about how to perform the rollover, call a TSP representative or talk to your financial advisor so that you don’t make any mistakes.

We at Goldco are not financial advisors, nor can we walk you through the ins and outs of what you should do with your TSP funds.

So now you’ve completed your TSP rollover and everything is good to go, right? Well, not exactly.

If your spouse is on file with TSP, your spouse will have to approve the rollover too. Your spouse will receive an email prompting them to e-sign their acceptance of the rollover.

TSP Rollover Timeline

We’ve already established that you have to have your IRA account information on file with TSP for at least seven days. And your rollover can’t go through until your spouse signs off.

Once your spouse signs off, expect the processing of the rollover to start shortly thereafter. And it could take 10 calendar days before your IRA custodian receives the funds.

If your custodian offers online access to your account, keep checking to see if the funds have made it. And if you don’t have online access to your IRA account, call your custodian after a week or two to see if they’ve received the funds. All in all, expect the entire process to take about two weeks.

Most TSP to IRA rollovers go off without a hitch. The process can be a little unnerving, especially if you’re rolling over a large sum of money and have never done a rollover before, but the choices that you can unlock after doing a rollover can make the process worth it.

If you’re looking to roll over TSP assets so that you can buy gold through a gold IRA, Goldco’s IRA specialists can help answer any questions you may have.

We have helped thousands of customers over the years, including many who have done TSP to gold IRA rollovers, and have made over $3 billion in precious metals placements. So if you’re looking to move your TSP funds into gold, contact the precious metals specialists at Goldco today.

This article was originally published in May 2023 and was updated in July 2025.

The post 3 Easy Steps to Roll Over Your TSP Into an IRA appeared first on Goldco.

The major benefit of 401(k) retirement plans is their tax-advantaged status. Employees can contribute to their 401(k) plan before taxes, allowing them to contribute more money than if they waited to contribute after-tax dollars.

Those contributions are also deducted from annual income, meaning that employees also pay less income tax in the present. Gains within a 401(k) plan accrue tax-free, with taxes only being assessed when employees decide to or are required to take a distribution.

But as with anything that saves you tax payments, the government won’t let you have too much of a good thing.

Governments depend on tax revenue, so the federal government has placed limits on how much individuals can contribute to a 401(k) plan each year. Otherwise, there would be an incredible incentive to contribute huge amounts of money into 401(k) plans to shelter more and more money from taxation.

The contribution limits are normally indexed to inflation and can change each year. Before the beginning of each tax year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will announce changes to the 401(k) contribution limit, so it can help to watch the IRS website for any announcements.

401(k) Contribution Limits for 2025

For 2025, individuals are able to contribute up to $23,500 to a 401(k) plan, an increase from the $23,000 401(k) contribution limit in 2024. IRS also allows employees older than 50 to make “catch-up” contributions to 401(k) accounts to help boost their savings before retirement.

The limit for catch-up 401(k) contributions was $7,500 for 2024 and remained $7,500 in 2025.

It’s common for many companies to make contributions to employees’ 401(k) plans too. The average employer contribution is about 4.6% of salary. But there are limits to how much employers can contribute.

For 2025 the maximum combined employer and employee 401(k) contribution is $70,000, or $77,500 with catch-up contributions.

These limits will most likely increase again in 2026, as they are indexed to inflation. The official IRS figures are normally published in late October or early November, so if you really want to stay on top of things, you can browse the IRS website in the fall to find updated numbers.

Highly-Paid Employee 401(k) Contribution Limits

Because well-paid employees can contribute more money to 401(k) plans than those who make less money, IRS wanted to make sure that 401(k) plans weren’t disproportionately benefiting high rollers. Thus, there are limits as to how much highly-compensated employees (HCE) can contribute to a 401(k) plan.

The threshold for being a highly-compensated employee for 2025 is $160,000. Once your compensation exceeds that threshold, your ability to max out a contribution to a 401(k) plan can be significantly reduced.

If you find out after the fact that you are a highly-compensated employee, any excess money you contributed will be refunded to you, and you’ll then owe taxes on that additional compensation.

If you’re at or near that highly-compensated employee threshold, you may want to contact your company’s HR, benefits, or payroll department to see whether you’re considered highly-compensated. It also can’t hurt to contact a financial adviser to see how you can plan for retirement if your ability to contribute to a 401(k) plan is hampered.

Understanding 401(k) Rules

Contribution limits to 401(k) plans exist because the IRS didn’t want just highly-paid employees to benefit from the tax advantages of a 401(k). The IRS wanted all employees at every level to be able to save for retirement.

If you find yourself maxing out your 401(k) contributions, or if you find that you’ve hit a lower 401(k) contribution limit because of your income level, there are other ways to save for retirement that are similarly tax-advantaged.

You can start an individual retirement account (IRA), which also offers many of the same tax advantages as a 401(k) plan. Annual IRA contribution limits for 2025 are $7,000, or $8,000 for those over age 50.

You can even start a gold IRA, which can place your assets into physical gold. Funding a gold IRA can be done either through annual contributions ($7,000 limit) or through a gold 401(k) rollover. That’s an especially popular option for those whose 401(k) asset options are limited, or who want to help safeguard their 401(k) assets with a time-honored safe haven asset.

Maximize Your 401(k)

If you’ve maxed out your 401(k) contribution limit, don’t let that dissuade you from continuing to save money. Have you ever known anyone who got to retirement wishing they had saved less money?

If you’ve reached the 401(k) limit or maxed out your IRA contributions, you might also give some thought to mixing up your holdings and diversifying your portfolio.

Rolling over existing retirement assets from a 401(k) to a gold IRA can be done easily and tax-free, allowing you to help protect your assets with physical gold coins and gold bars while still enjoying the tax advantages of an IRA account.

Don’t let your ability to save for retirement dwindle because you don’t know the ins and outs of 401(k) plans and how to contribute to your retirement savings. Learn more about how you can maximize the potential of your 401(k).

This article was originally published in October 2019 and was updated in June 2025.

The post 401(k) Contribution Limits: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Goldco.

For most people who invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and similar financial products, they may not give a second thought to IRA eligibility. But if you’re looking for alternative assets for your IRA, IRA eligibility could become a consideration.

Once you branch out into self-directed IRAs, which can acquire real estate, private equity, and commodities, you have to start thinking about whether your desired IRA assets are in fact IRA-eligible.

IRAs can acquire a significant range of tangible, physical assets, including precious metals such as gold and silver through a gold or silver IRA. But while there is a nearly limitless range of assets an IRA can acquire, there are some things it can’t.

3 Key Considerations

1. IRA accounts can acquire a wide range of assets but are generally prohibited from acquiring collectibles.
2. While collectibles are forbidden from acquisition, certain precious metals coins and bars are exempt from the collectibles definition, thus making them IRA-eligible.
3. Using IRA funds to acquire non-IRA-eligible assets would be considered a distribution of IRA assets, and could subject you to taxes and penalties.

What Is an IRA?

An IRA is an individual retirement arrangement or individual retirement account, a type of tax-advantaged retirement savings account that was developed in the mid-1970s to help Americans save more money for retirement.

While most workplace retirement plans today are 401(k) plans, Americans actually hold more money today in IRA accounts than in 401(k) accounts. Accordingly, the importance of IRAs to retirement savings is arguably greater than that of 401(k)s.

What Can an IRA Acquire?

Aside from assets that are strictly forbidden from IRA acquisition, an IRA can acquire just about any asset under the sun, assuming you have the financial means to fund that IRA and can find an IRA custodian who is willing to administer alternative assets.

Want to buy a house with your IRA assets in order to grow your IRA with rental income? You can do it.

Want to buy agricultural futures and other commodities? You can do it.

Want to buy gold coins and gold bars to provide a hedge against inflation or a safe haven against economic uncertainty? You can do that too.

What Can an IRA Not Acquire?

There are very specific rules about what an IRA cannot acquire. Broadly speaking, IRAs are forbidden from acquiring collectibles.

For the purposes of IRA acquisition, a collectible is defined at 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(2) as:

“(A) any work of art,

(B) any rug or antique,

(C) any metal or gem,

(D) any stamp or coin,

(E) any alcoholic beverage, or

(F) any other tangible personal property specified by the Secretary for purposes of this subsection.”

That last bit means that anything not listed above that the Secretary of the Treasury subsequently deems to be a collectible would be forbidden from IRA acquisition.

Now you may be looking at that list and seeing that coins and metals are both forbidden from IRA accounts as collectibles. So how can you buy gold or silver coins or bars with an IRA?

Exceptions to the Rule

The very next subsection, 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3) points out some very specific and important exceptions to the definition of collectibles. To quote that subsection:

“For purposes of this subsection, the term “collectible” shall not include-

(A) any coin which is-

(i) a gold coin described in paragraph (7), (8), (9), or (10) of section 5112(a) of title 31, United States Code,

(ii) a silver coin described in section 5112(e) of title 31, United States Code,

(iii) a platinum coin described in section 5112(k) of title 31, United States Code, or

(iv) a coin issued under the laws of any State, or

(B) any gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion of a fineness equal to or exceeding the minimum fineness that a contract market (as described in section 5 of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 7) requires for metals which may be delivered in satisfaction of a regulated futures contract,

if such bullion is in the physical possession of a trustee described under subsection (a) of this section.”

Those coins described in 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(A)(i) to (iii) are the Gold American Eagle series of 1-ounce, ½-ounce, ¼-ounce, and 1/10-ounce gold coins , the Silver American Eagle coins , and the Platinum American Eagle coins.

With regard to section 408(m)(3)(B), the minimum finenesses for futures contracts are .995 for gold, .999 for silver, .9995 for platinum, and .9995 for palladium. That means that any bullion coins or bars produced to those minimum finenesses is IRA-eligible.

For purposes of a gold or silver IRA, that means that popular bullion coins such as Morgan silver dollars, US junk silver, South African Krugerrands, and French and Swiss 20-Franc gold coins are not IRA-eligible because their gold and silver content is insufficiently high to make them IRA-eligible.

IRA-Eligible Gold and Silver

Fortunately there are numerous other IRA-eligible gold and silver coins available. Aside from the aforementioned Gold and Silver American Eagle coins, there are numerous other coins minted to IRA-eligible levels of purity by mints around the world.

Goldco works with many of those mints to bring you high quality, authentic, IRA-eligible coins direct from the mint. Why take the risk that the gold and silver coins you want to buy may not be IRA-eligible, when you can buy IRA-eligible precious metals coins from trusted partners like Goldco who obtain them straight from the source?

If you attempt to use IRA funds to acquire gold and silver that isn’t IRA-eligible, it would be considered a distribution of your IRA assets, which could subject you to potential taxes and penalties.

Learn More About Gold and Silver IRAs

If you want to learn more about gold and silver IRAs, how they function, and the types of gold and silver coins and bars you can add to your precious metals IRAs, talk to the experts at Goldco.

We have a variety of online resources available, such as our Beginner’s Guide to a Gold IRA or our Ultimate Guide to Gold & Silver, that answer many of the questions you may have about how gold and silver IRAs operate.

They can give you the basics on IRA rules and regulations, how to start a gold or silver IRA, and what kinds of gold and silver you can buy with a precious metals IRA.

If you have any additional questions on how gold and silver IRAs work, our precious metals specialists are available to answer any questions you may have.

With over a decade of experience, over $3 billion in precious metals placements, and over 7,000 5-star reviews from our customers, Goldco has helped thousands of people benefit from owning gold and silver.

Call Goldco today to learn more about how you can put IRA-eligible gold and silver to work for you in helping to safeguard your financial future.

This article was originally published in March 2024 and was updated in June 2025.

The post What Are IRA-Eligible Gold and Silver Coins and Bars? appeared first on Goldco.

Among them is Bitcoin, which some of its proponents like to refer to at times as “digital gold.” Bitcoin was developed with an eye towards overcoming the problems with fiat currency, but can it really compete with gold as a safe haven asset?

If we were to experience another recession or financial crisis like 2008, that could be the first big test of Bitcoin’s ability to serve as a safe haven during a crisis. So let’s look a bit closer at Bitcoin vs. gold and see if either one might be right for you.

3 Things to Consider

• As recession fears grow, more and more people are looking for safe haven assets.
• Gold offers a history as a safe haven asset and inflation hedge, but there are concerns about counterfeiting and safe storage .
• Bitcoin has seen immense price growth, but concerns about intangibility, hacking, and long-term price stability remain.

Advantages of Gold

First, let’s take a look at some of the advantages of gold. There are numerous reasons that gold has maintained its popularity as a safe haven asset for such a long time.

1. Universal Appeal

Gold has a nearly universal appeal as a safe haven asset and a store of wealth. For millennia, civilizations around the world have valued gold.

From the Bible, to India and China, to the modern day, gold has always been seen as a marker of wealth. No other metal, or asset, has that kind of universal appeal.

That means that gold also is in demand all over the world. If you need to buy or sell gold, gold markets around the world operate nearly 24/7, ensuring a steady supply of gold for buyers and sellers.

2. Tangible Physical Asset

In a world in which so much of our wealth and so much of our data is held in electronic form, having tangible physical goods and assets has a value all its own.

For many people who are worried about the safety and security of the money they hold in a bank, or the tax-advantaged savings they hold in retirement accounts, the ability to own valuable tangible physical assets that they can place their hands on can give them extra peace of mind.

With gold, that tangibility can come in the form of physical gold coins and bars that are stored at home, or in the form of physical gold coins and bars held by a gold IRA. With a gold IRA, distributions can be taken either in cash or in physical gold.

3. Portability and Liquidity

Gold is a compact store of wealth. All the gold ever mined in the history of the world would cover a soccer field to a depth of one meter. That’s not a huge amount of physical gold.

A roll of 20 one-ounce gold coins could fit in your pocket, but is valuable enough to buy a nice luxury car. And because gold markets operate all over the world 24/7, it is one of the most liquid assets there is.

4. Inflation Hedge

Gold has been trusted as an inflation hedge for decades. Its ability to maintain its value and purchasing power no matter what is transpiring with paper currencies can make it a valuable asset for those looking to help protect their wealth against inflation.

Since 1971 the US dollar has lost over 88% of its value, while gold has risen in value nearly 9,000%.

5. Anonymous Ownership

If you buy gold to store at home, no one has to know that you own it. There are no reporting requirements, no forms to fill out.

Owning physical gold is a lot like owning cash. And while there are tax requirements when it comes to selling gold, during your period of gold ownership you generally don’t have to worry about any sort of tax consequences.

Advantages of Bitcoin

Bitcoin was developed to be an electronic currency that rivaled both the US dollar and gold. Here are some of Bitcoin’s advantages.

1. Limited Supply

Bitcoin sought to overcome the problem inherent in the US dollar and other modern fiat currencies which have a centralized issuer, namely the inherent tendency for the central issuer (the central bank) to create ever more units of the currency, which is inflationary and results in higher prices.

Bitcoin developed a decentralized method of currency issuance in which there is no single issuer of bitcoins. And the Bitcoin supply is limited to 21 million coins.

Once those coins are all mined, there will be no more created. So rather than getting less valuable over time as each US dollar is, each bitcoin is intended to get more valuable, kind of like gold.

2. Instantaneous Payment

Bitcoin was originally set up to be a means of payment as well as a store of value. Bitcoin transactions were developed to settle much quicker than other forms of payment, making it an advantageous method of payment for both online and point of sale transactions.

Bitcoin also allows individuals to easily store their Bitcoin holdings, enabling them to become their own banks. And because Bitcoin transactions are so seamless, it also enables people to make international transactions quickly and easily, bypassing the banking system and reducing the need for a wide variety of foreign currencies.

3. Pseudonymous Ownership

While Bitcoin’s detractors often like to deride it as an anonymous cryptocurrency used by criminals and terrorists , that isn’t true. Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous.

Bitcoin holdings are tied to various Bitcoin addresses, and every single transaction of bitcoins is tracked and stored on the blockchain in perpetuity.

Unless your Bitcoin address can be tied to your identity, however, no one knows who is doing what. While much of Bitcoin’s pseudonymity is being undone by the use of exchanges which are subject to know your customer and anti-money laundering legislation, there are still undoubtedly many Bitcoin addresses whose users are unknown.

While Bitcoin may not offer all the same anonymity as cash, it can come pretty close.

4. Price Growth

One of the most attractive aspects of Bitcoin is its meteoric price growth. Once worth mere fractions of a penny, each bitcoin is now worth over $100,000. The famous “Bitcoin pizza” transaction in May 2010 that cost 10,000 BTC for two pizzas is now worth over $1 billion.

The allure of easy money drew many people to Bitcoin, who thought the Bitcoin price would only ever move upward. And while Bitcoin’s rate of price growth has slowed as the technology has become more mature and widely adopted, its rate of price growth has still been pretty astounding, with a nearly 1,000% gain over the past five years.

Disadvantages of Gold

Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the advantages of gold and Bitcoin, let’s take a look at some of gold’s disadvantages.

1. Counterfeiting

One of the obvious risks with gold is the threat of counterfeiting. In other words, how do you know that the gold you’re buying is actually authentic?

Fortunately there are ways to ensure that you’re not getting taken for a ride. If you’re knowledgeable and experienced with gold, you can use calipers, scales, and even acid tests to ensure that the gold coins and gold bars you buy are real.

Or, you just skip all the sketchy online marketplaces and chat boards and work directly with trusted vendors to buy gold. At Goldco we work directly with mints around the world to source gold coins and bring them to you, ensuring that the gold coins you buy are 100% authentic.

2. Storage and Security

Because of gold’s value, keeping it stored safely and securely will be an issue. That’s particularly true if you’re starting a gold IRA through a 401(k) rollover, in which you could easily be buying $50,000 to $100,000 or more of gold.

Depending on how much gold you buy and how you choose to buy it, you could choose to store it at home in a safe, put it in a safe deposit box, or store it at a bullion depository. But each of these choices comes with certain risks and costs.

The more safe and secure you want to keep your gold, the more it is likely to cost you. And even though those costs may only be a few hundred dollars a year, it still will eat into any price gains your gold makes.

3. Weight

Gold coins and bars are also dense and heavy. And while they can be portable, they’ll also feel heavy.

If you own large amounts of gold, say, well into the millions, your gold holdings could be very heavy and bulky. That could make it inconvenient to move around.

4. Some Gold Assets Aren’t the Best

All gold assets aren’t the same. While owning physical gold coins and bars remains popular, there are some alternatives, like owning gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or owning shares in gold mining stocks.

The disadvantage of gold ETFs is that you don’t actually own gold, just shares in a fund that claims to own gold. And you generally can’t convert those shares into gold.

The disadvantage to gold mining stocks is that even if the price of gold is going up, there’s no guarantee that the price of gold mining stocks will increase. Even if revenues from gold mining increase, energy costs, political instability, labor unrest, and environmental cleanup can all take a toll on miners.

Disadvantages of Bitcoin

Let’s now take a look at the disadvantages of Bitcoin, which are not insubstantial.

1. Not a Tangible Asset

One of the biggest knocks on Bitcoin is that it isn’t a tangible asset. It’s purely ephemeral, existing in the 1s and 0s on a computer hard drive somewhere.

While that may not be an issue most of the time, and isn’t that much different in practice than many of the assets we own today, there may come a time when tangibility is needed.

Particularly when times get tough is when people want the security of valuable tangible physical assets, which is one reason gold is so in demand as a safe haven asset.

2. Needs Electricity

Because Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, it requires electricity to operate, and lots of it. Whether you store Bitcoin on an exchange or on a personal device, you need to have electricity to access it and to exchange it.

When the grid goes down, what do you do? While there are workarounds to use Bitcoin as a currency using cell phones and meshed networks, you still need electricity to power those phones and networking devices.

In a world with no electricity and no way to charge and power electronic devices, Bitcoin just isn’t possible. That’s why gold has remained such a popular safe haven asset for SHTF types of situations.

3. Potential for Government Crackdowns

While the US government has thus far taken a soft hand with regard to regulating Bitcoin, the same can’t be said for other countries. China long ago banned Bitcoin mining and trading, and other nations could follow suit.

Even the US could eventually lose its tolerance for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, particularly if it decides to introduce a digital dollar or other central bank digital currency (CBDC). So while Bitcoin may be free and legal right now, there’s no guarantee that the government won’t crack down in the future.

4. Could Be Replaced by Newer Technology

Bitcoin may be great right now, but as we all know with technology, something later and greater always comes along. Who’s to say that 10-20 years from now some newer, better, faster cryptocurrency doesn’t come along and usurp Bitcoin’s position?

While gold has a track record going back millennia, Bitcoin has only been around for about 15 years, so its long-term viability is still up in the air.

5. Hacking

Another of Bitcoin’s supposed advantages was that transactions couldn’t be backed out. This was supposed to eliminate the possibility of chargebacks, a perennial thorn in the side of businesses everywhere.

While this was intended to ease Bitcoin’s adoption by businesses as a means of payment, it’s not necessarily the greatest thing for Bitcoin holders. If your Bitcoin holdings are hacked, and bitcoins are moved from your address to another one, there is no way to reverse that transaction.

The best you can hope for is that some government agency might eventually take control of the address that ended up with your bitcoins and give them back to you, but that could be wishful thinking. That’s why proper security procedures are absolutely essential when it comes to storing Bitcoin.

6. Price Volatility

The flip side of Bitcoin’s price growth is its tremendous price volatility. More than once, Bitcoin has soared to all-time highs, then crashed significantly.

With only a roughly 15-year price history, there’s no way to tell where Bitcoin will be 15 years from now. It could be ten times higher than it is today, or it could be worthless. There’s just no way to tell.

7. Fraud

One of the selling points of Bitcoin was that it enabled everyone to become his own bank. You could store all of your Bitcoin wealth in your Bitcoin wallet and carry it wherever you wanted to.

But along the way, various cryptocurrency exchanges popped up to help facilitate the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Many of these exchanges also offered custodial services, allowing Bitcoin owners to keep their Bitcoin in the exchange’s wallets rather than their own.

This centralization made exchanges a target for hackers, and they also provided an opportunity for fraudsters to create exchanges in order to accumulate large amounts of cryptocurrencies they could siphon off.

The recent case of FTX, a multi-billion dollar fraud, is but one example. With so much money being conjured up in the cryptocurrency sphere, and with cryptocurrencies being so prone to hacking, theft, and fraud, cryptocurrencies could continue to be a target for fraudsters around the world.

Bitcoin or Gold: Which Is Right for You?

If the US economy faces another recession in the coming years, that could determine whether Bitcoin will live up to the hype as digital gold, or whether it is dramatically over-hyped. But in the meantime, gold could continue to live up to the expectations gold owners have for it.

Already the yellow metal has seen recent all-time highs of $3,500 an ounce, and that’s in an economy that hasn’t even encountered any serious rough patches. If the US economy were to enter into recession, as many people fear, gold could climb even higher.

If you’re worried about the direction of the economy and want to help protect your hard-earned savings, which would you rather choose: the proven safe haven with thousands of years of experience behind it, or the upstart with less than two decades of history?

When it comes to helping safeguard your wealth, gold has a strong track record. And if it performs as well during the next recession as it did during the 2008 crisis and its aftermath, gold owners are going to be very pleased.

With over $3 billion in precious metals placements and over 7,000 5-star reviews from our customers, Goldco has worked hard to make itself one of the best and most trusted gold companies in the country. Call Goldco today to learn more about how you can help safeguard your savings with gold.

This article was originally published in June 2024 and was updated in June 2025.

The post Gold vs. Bitcoin: Are Both Safe Havens? appeared first on Goldco.

When it comes to economic uncertainty, that familiarity can come from safe haven assets, which provide safety and security during tough times. For many people, those safe haven assets include physical, tangible assets.

For most of us, our wealth isn’t physical. Our bank accounts don’t get mailed to us, our 401(k), IRA, and other retirement accounts aren’t on paper, and even our paychecks aren’t physical entities.

We don’t get paid cash for our work, let alone a physical check, almost everything is done electronically or online today. While that may make our lives easier in many ways, it also can leave us panicked when our normal everyday experience is threatened.

If you looked at your online bank account, your retirement account, or your brokerage account and saw the sums dwindling, how would you feel? How would you react, and how would you go about trying to protect yourself and your finances?

For many Americans, that attempt to help protect themselves might come through tangible physical assets like precious metals. Precious metals may be denigrated in some corners as pet rocks, but if you own these “pet rocks” you likely won’t have to worry about the company whose stocks or bonds you (don’t) own going bankrupt.

Nor do you have to worry as much about the value of your dollars being devalued by inflation, because precious metals have an impressive track record of helping to hedge against inflation.

These characteristics of precious metals as safe haven assets and inflation hedges are making them an increasingly popular asset option for more Americans.

Many people are buying precious metals through precious metals-backed IRA accounts, which you may see referred to as a precious metals IRA, gold IRA, gold-backed IRA, silver IRA, or silver-backed IRA. These retirement accounts can help you harness the power of precious metals to help protect and defend you through difficult times.

Key Takeaways

1. Tangible physical assets like precious metals have a history of serving as safe haven assets and inflation hedges.
2. A precious metals-backed IRA can hold physical gold, silver, platinum, or palladium coins or bars, offering the advantage of precious metals ownership as well as IRA tax advantages.
3. Precious metals IRAs are subject to the same rules and requirements as any other IRA account.

What Is a Precious Metals IRA?

A precious metals IRA is just an IRA account that holds physical precious metals coins or bars. Many people have never heard of precious metals IRAs before because most IRA custodians don’t manage precious metals assets.

As a result, many retirement account holders may not be aware that they can own gold, silver, and other precious metals in an IRA retirement account with all the same tax advantages as any other retirement account.

What Precious Metals Can I Buy With a Precious Metals IRA?

While most people think of gold and silver when they hear the term precious metals, there are over a dozen metals that have been described as precious metals. But only four of those precious metals are eligible for acquisition through a precious metals IRA.

Gold

When you hear the term precious metals, you probably think of gold first and foremost.

Fort Knox. Mr. T’s jewelry. Scrooge McDuck’s money bin.

Throughout history, gold has been synonymous with wealth.

Precious metals IRAs that acquire gold are known as a gold IRA. They can hold physical gold coins or bars, which are managed by an IRA custodian and stored at a bullion depository.

Silver

Silver often plays second fiddle to gold, but it can provide additional asset growth and portfolio diversification. In some cases silver can even outperform gold.

Silver’s use as an industrial metal makes it slightly different than gold in its price movements, as demand from various sectors of industry can influence the price of silver.

Platinum

Platinum’s best known use is in catalytic converters in the automotive industry. It’s also used in jewelry. Numerous mints produce IRA-eligible platinum coin and bar products.

Palladium

Palladium is also used in catalytic converters, and its price has seen significant movements in recent years. At one point its price was even much higher than gold’s.

While palladium coins and bars are less common even than platinum, there are still some IRA-eligible palladium coins and bars available.

The Benefits of Owning Precious Metals

There are numerous benefits to owning precious metals. Here are four benefits of buying precious metals through a precious metals IRA.

Wealth Protection

One potential benefit of owning precious metals is the opportunity to help protect your wealth. Gold and silver in particular have been favored as wealth protecting metals throughout history.

As soon as the first hint of a crisis occurs, people start rushing to buy gold and silver. We saw this in 2008, as prices rose in response to increased demand, again in 2020, and once again today.

Inflation Hedge

Precious metals can also serve as a hedge against inflation. This is especially true for gold, which over the long run has maintained its purchasing power while the US dollar has become increasingly devalued.

During the stagflation of the 1970s, gold and silver both made annualized gains of over 30% over the course of the decade, far outpacing both markets and inflation. Many people today are hoping that precious metals can help them protect against the continued threat of inflation.

Diversify Your Portfolio

Diversifying your portfolio with precious metals is another beneficial aspect of owning physical metals. While gold and silver are perhaps the more popular precious metals when it comes to diversification, platinum and palladium can’t be forgotten.

Tax-Free Growth With a Precious Metals IRA

Finally, if you choose to buy precious metals through a precious metals IRA, you gain the benefit of tax-free asset growth and favorable tax treatment. Many people like to hold physical precious metals coins at home, but owning precious metals coins in an IRA can also be beneficial.

With a Traditional precious metals IRA, you would purchase your precious metals with pre-tax dollars, grow your assets tax-free, and then only pay taxes when you take a distribution.

With a Roth precious metals IRA, you would buy precious metals with post-tax dollars, grow your assets tax-free, and pay no taxes when you take a qualified distribution. And you can take your distribution from a precious metals IRA either in cash or in physical precious metals.

Precious Metals IRA Rules & Regulations

Like all tax-advantaged retirement accounts, precious metals-backed IRAs are subject to IRA rules and regulations. Familiarizing yourself with those rules and regulations can help you avoid unintended and unwanted tax consequences.

Ban on Collectibles

All IRA accounts are forbidden from acquiring collectibles. Attempting to use IRA assets to purchase collectibles is considered a distribution of assets and could trigger taxes and penalties.

The tax code lists certain items that are considered collectibles, and it includes any coin or metal.

For the purposes of that definition, however, certain coins are excluded from consideration as collectibles. This includes a handful of coins produced by the US Mint, such as Silver American Eagle and Gold American Eagle coins, as well as any coin or bullion of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium produced to a minimum fineness that would be accepted for futures contracts.

What this means is that in order to be eligible for purchase through a precious metals IRA, any gold coin or bar needs to be at least 99.5% pure, any silver coin or bar needs to be at least 99.9% pure, and any platinum or palladium coin or bar needs to be at least 99.95% pure.

If you’re looking to buy precious metals coins through an IRA, there are numerous choices out there for you. You won’t be able to choose classic coins such as South African Krugerrands, British Sovereigns, older Morgan silver dollars, or Swiss 20 Franc coins, as their metal contents aren’t high enough to make them IRA-eligible.

But mints around the world today produce millions of coins that are IRA-eligible, and Goldco works directly with many of those mints to get you those coins.

No Home Storage

If you’ve done enough reading about precious metals IRAs and self-directed IRAs, you’ve probably come across something known as a home storage IRA. These are purported to be precious metals IRAs that allow you to own precious metals within an IRA and store those metals at home.

If that sounds like it’s too good to be true, it’s because it is. All IRA assets in any IRA account are required to be managed by an IRA custodian.

So if you try to set up a home storage IRA and use IRA assets to buy precious metals coins and bars that you store at home, it would likely be treated as a distribution of assets and end up costing you in taxes and penalties.

This is why it’s important not to get seduced by stories that make it sound like you can have your cake and eat it too. Stick with trusted partners like Goldco who have years of experience helping our customers navigate the process of purchasing metals for their precious metals IRAs.

Custodians And Storage

All IRA assets are required to be managed by a custodian. If you already have an IRA account, say with a brokerage, you’re probably already familiar with the process of working with an IRA custodian, even if you don’t fully realize it.

Most IRA custodians don’t offer precious metals as an option because they don’t want to have to manage precious metals assets. So you’ll have to find a custodian who offers precious metals management services, or partner with someone like Goldco who works with precious metals IRA custodians.

Once you fund your precious metals IRA and buy your coins or bars, your assets will be stored at a bullion depository. Goldco partners with secure depositories to ensure that our customers’ assets remain safe and sound.

Required Minimum Distributions

As with any other IRA, your precious metals IRA will be subject to requirement minimum distributions (RMDs).

For precious metals IRAs that are Traditional IRAs, RMDs are required once you turn 73. There are currently no RMD requirements for the original owners of Roth IRAs.

All IRA Rules Apply

All the other IRA rules and regulations apply to a precious metals IRA, including those about early distributions and associated penalties. Whether your precious metals IRA is a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA, the same rules and regulations apply as they would to any other IRA.

If you’re already familiar with the IRA rules and regulations, you may already know many of the rules pertaining to precious metals IRAs. But if you don’t already know the IRA rules and regulations, you’ll want to start learning them, or consult with a tax advisor or financial advisor before making a decision about your retirement assets.

Want to Learn More About a Precious Metals IRA?

If you think that a precious metals IRA might be the right choice for you, give the experts at Goldco a call today. Ultimately the decision about whether or not to start a precious metals IRA is yours to make, but it can help to be as educated as you can be before you make a decision.

Whether you have an orphaned 401(k) that you want to start performing better or a current retirement account that you want to help protect, learning more about a precious metals IRA can help you get on the path to helping safeguard your retirement savings.

Don’t let your hard-earned money fall victim to potential recession, insidious inflation, or any other financial calamity. Call Goldco today to start your precious metals IRA journey.

This article was originally published in December 2022 and was updated in June 2025.

The post How Does a Precious Metals-Backed IRA Work? appeared first on Goldco.

Gold jewelry doesn’t tarnish; silver does. And gold is worth over $3,300 per ounce while silver is still only pushing above $33 an ounce.

But despite gold’s clear lead over silver, silver remains popular. And one way to buy silver is through a silver IRA.

A silver IRA works just the same as any other IRA, allowing you to buy silver with pre-tax dollars while deferring taxation until it comes time to take a distribution. And with a silver IRA rollover you can roll over existing retirement assets from 401(k), IRA, TSP, or similar accounts into a silver IRA tax-free.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the economy today, what you do today could impact your financial security for years to come. And with many people expecting silver to rise in value, buying silver with a silver IRA could be one way to help safeguard your retirement savings.

3 Key Takeaways

1. A silver IRA is a self-directed IRA that allows you to own physical silver coins and silver bars while still enjoying the same tax advantages as any other IRA.
2. Silver IRA benefits include portfolio diversification, inflation hedging, and beneficial tax treatment.
3. Not all silver coins or silver bars are IRA-eligible, so it can be helpful to work with trusted partners like Goldco to ensure that your silver IRA assets are IRA-eligible.

Everything You Need to Know About Silver IRAs

A silver IRA is a type of self-directed IRA in which you are the fiduciary. You decide what kind of silver coins or bullion to buy, you determine where you want to buy that silver, and you determine which custodian stores that silver for you.

A silver IRA is subject to the same rules as a traditional IRA. Your silver IRA purchase is made with pre-tax dollars and your assets grow tax-free until you decide to take a distribution.

Taking a distribution before age 59½ can incur a 10% penalty in addition to any taxes you owe, and once you reach age 73 you’ll be required to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) each year. You can choose to take your distributions in cash or in silver.

Buying silver through a silver IRA can be one method of diversifying your portfolio. Precious metals have long been trusted to help protect wealth because they maintain their value in the face of inflation and financial distress.

And with growing industrial demand for silver providing an additional impetus for price growth, the upside for silver could be substantial.

What a Silver IRA Is

Most people understand how to open a regular IRA account. They go to a brokerage and open an account, and they’re able to buy stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and all sorts of paper assets.

Because a silver IRA owns tangible physical silver coins and silver bars, setting up a self-directed IRA to buy silver requires you to pick a custodian to manage that silver. Storage of silver by yourself is not allowed with a silver IRA, nor are you allowed to purchase silver coins or bullion that you already own.

The process of opening a self-directed IRA to buy silver isn’t terribly difficult, and the experts at Goldco can guide you through the process. Once your silver IRA is up and running, you’ll be able to manage your assets, making the decisions about what to buy and when.

With the same tax advantages as any other IRA, you can let your silver keep accruing value tax-free until you decide to take a distribution.

Silver IRA vs. Traditional IRA

While most silver IRAs are set up as Traditional IRAs, and enjoy the same tax advantages such as being able to buy assets with pre-tax dollars, it’s also possible for you to set up a Roth silver IRA.

Just like a regular Roth IRA, a silver Roth IRA allows you to use post-tax dollars to buy silver, with qualified distributions then being tax-free.

Remember that the total annual contribution limit for IRAs is $7,000, or $8,000 for those age 50 or over. That is the total for all IRAs, so if you have more than one account you can only contribute $7,000 (or $8,000) across all those accounts. There is an exception, however, for IRA rollovers.

If you have money in an existing 401(k), 403(b), TSP, or similar account that you want to roll over into a silver IRA, you can roll over as much of that account as you want without having to worry about falling afoul of IRS contribution limits.

Some Advantages of a Silver IRA

Silver, like gold, is used by many people as a safeguard against economic turmoil. And buying silver with a silver IRA can offer some advantages.

1. Safe Haven Asset

Like gold, silver is often looked to as an asset to help protect wealth when the economy performs poorly. Silver is a countercyclical asset which has low correlation with assets like stocks and bonds.

During past historical crises, the silver price has risen in value, even as markets have underperformed. Silver rose at an annualized rate of over 30% per year throughout the 1970s stagflation, and in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis more than quintupled in price from 2008 to 2011.

2. Portfolio Diversification

Many people buy paper assets such as stocks, bonds, and index funds for their IRAs. Those assets can fluctuate in value based upon the health of Wall Street, the strength of the dollar, and the monetary actions of the Federal Reserve.

Because of its countercyclical nature, silver can help to diversify a portfolio. With its low correlation to stocks and bonds, silver can help alter the risk profile of your portfolio.

3. Inflation Hedge

While the US dollar has lost 88% of its purchasing power since 1971, silver has risen over 2,200% in price in that same period. That ability to gain value in the face of rising inflation and a devaluing dollar has helped make silver a popular inflation hedge.

Silver’s 30% annualized gains during the stagflation of the 1970s made for phenomenal price growth. If inflation were to rise back to 1970s levels, could silver repeat that same performance?

4. Tax Benefits

A silver IRA offers you the same tax advantages as any other IRA account. That way you can own physical silver coins or silver bars while still maintaining the same tax treatment as any other IRA account.

Distributions from a Traditional silver IRA are subject to the same tax treatment as distributions from any other Traditional IRA, and qualified distributions from a Roth silver IRA are tax-free, just as are distributions from any other Roth IRA. And you can choose to take your distributions in cash or in physical silver.

Silver IRA Rules

Not every type of silver is available for silver IRA acquisition, however. Like any other IRA, silver IRAs are prohibited from acquiring collectibles, which includes most metals and coins.

There are exceptions, however, for Silver American Eagle coins and any silver coins or silver bullion that meets the fineness requirements for a futures contract (.999 or 99.9% pure silver).

While this means that silver jewelry, silverware, and older silver coins such as the Morgan Silver Dollars aren’t IRA-eligible, there are still numerous IRA-eligible silver coin and silver bar options available.

Goldco offers IRA-eligible silver coins and silver bars from mints around the world, ensuring that the silver you buy for your silver IRA is 100% authentic.

Because silver IRAs are subject to the same rules as other IRAs, this means that they’re also subject to rules regarding required minimum distributions (RMDs). If your silver IRA is a Traditional IRA, you have to start taking RMDs at age 73; Roth silver IRAs are not subject to RMDs.

Is a Silver IRA Right for You?

By starting a silver IRA, you have the ability to diversify your portfolio and help safeguard your assets against inflation, currency devaluation, and potential recession. With so much uncertainty and fear surrounding the future of the economy, now is the time to start thinking about how you can help protect your assets.

Recession fears are growing, and many Americans are hoping that we don’t end up in another financial crisis like 2008. But ultimately there’s nothing that any of us can do to stop a possible recession.

All we can do is react, or proactively take steps to help protect ourselves ahead of time. And a silver IRA could be one tool to help you be proactive in doing that.

If you’re looking to diversify your portfolio, hedge against inflation, or help safeguard your retirement savings against economic uncertainty, silver can play a role. And the precious metals specialists at Goldco can help you.

We’ve helped thousands of Americans benefit from owning silver, and with over $3 billion in precious metals placements and over 7,000 5-star reviews from our customers, we’ve worked hard to become one of the best gold and silver companies in the country.

Don’t let your hard-earned wealth fall victim to the vicissitudes of markets. Call Goldco today to learn more about how you can put silver to work for you in helping safeguard your savings.

This article was originally published in July 2019 and was updated in June 2025.

The post How to Buy Silver With Your IRA appeared first on Goldco.

A physical silver IRA can help you with that, allowing you to roll over existing retirement assets into physical silver coins and bars tax-free. With a silver IRA rollover, you can lock in gains from your 401(k), 403(b), TSP or similar retirement account, while benefiting from the potential for price growth that silver offers.

With a silver IRA, you can enjoy all the same tax benefits as any other IRA, including being able to use pre-tax dollars to buy silver, and deferring taxation until distribution time. But you can also gain the peace of mind that comes from owning physical silver, which over the course of time can grow in value.

A silver IRA isn’t a paper asset that’s backed by silver; it’s real silver coins or bars that you own. And when you decide to take a distribution, you can choose to take it either in cash or in physical silver.

With a silver IRA, not only are you potentially keeping your own retirement savings safe and secure, you’re also helping build a sound financial future for your heirs who may inherit your silver IRA once you pass away. Silver has been playing a role in helping safeguard people’s wealth for centuries and could continue to do so in the future.

3 Key Takeaways

1. The silver price has increased over 2,000% since 1971, while the dollar has lost 88% of its value.
2. Silver demand continues to outstrip silver supply.
3. Rising silver demand from the photovoltaic industry could push the silver price up.

Silver IRAs vs. Conventional IRAs

Most conventional IRA accounts hold what are often referred to as paper financial assets: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, certificates of deposit, etc. All of those are heavily dependent on the health of Wall Street for their value.

When the economy starts to perform poorly, many of those assets can plummet in value. Contrast that with silver, which like gold can maintain and even increase its value in the face of economic instability.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, for instance, silver more than quintupled from its 2008 lows to its 2011 highs. Not only did that far outpace the recovery of markets, that was even higher growth than gold.

Silver IRAs, like all other IRAs, can be either Traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs. With a Traditional silver IRA, you would use pre-tax dollars to buy silver.

With a Roth silver IRA you would use post-tax dollars to buy silver. Or you could roll over pre-tax dollars from a 401(k) or similar retirement account into a Roth silver IRA, performing a Roth conversion and paying taxes now so that you don’t have to pay taxes when you take your qualified distributions.

Silver Supply and Demand

Silver is in demand not just from markets but also from industry. And while silver may no longer see the demand from the photographic film industry that it once did, that has been made up by demand from the solar panel industry.

Silver’s continued use in solar cells could make up a large part of increasing silver demand. And with silver demand having outstripped silver supply for the past several years, stronger silver demand could put more upward pressure on silver prices.

Benefits of a Silver IRA

Silver has been an important monetary metal for centuries, right alongside gold. And because it is far less expensive than gold, you can buy more of it for the same amount of money.

People who know that paper assets can become worthless appreciate silver for its ability to act as a safe haven asset and store of value over the long term. A silver IRA allows you to take advantage of silver’s maintenance of value in order to help diversify and help protect your retirement savings portfolio.

Buying silver with a silver IRA can offer several important benefits. Among them are:

• Portfolio Diversification
• Inflation Hedge
• Asset Appreciation
• Tax Advantages

Portfolio Diversification

For many people, diversification just means mixing up the percentage of stocks vs. bonds that you hold. But really diversifying can mean looking into different geographic regions, different asset classes, and exploring alternative assets such as precious metals like gold and silver.

Buying silver through a silver IRA can be a simple way of diversifying your portfolio. Setting up a silver IRA allows you to branch away from the traditional financial assets owned by most retirement accounts, in order to alter the risk profile of your assets.

Once you get your feet wet with a silver IRA and feel comfortable with precious metals, you can also begin to buy gold, platinum, and other precious metals.

Inflation Hedge

Silver can also act as a hedge against inflation. While the US dollar continues to become devalued every year through the Federal Reserve’s inflationary monetary policy, silver continues to appreciate in value.

That’s why silver coins long since ceased to circulate as money, because the silver in them became worth more than their face value. A silver dollar now contains nearly $25 worth of silver, while a paper dollar has lost 97% of its value since 1913.

Since August 1971, the US dollar has lost over 88% of its value. But silver has appreciated in value more than 2,000% since then.

Asset Appreciation

Silver’s strongest price growth can come when markets aren’t performing well, which makes silver a potential countercyclical asset that many people buy when they think they may face economic instability.

Silver also performed well during the 1970s stagflation, when markets struggled to grow. Silver’s annualized rate of growth was over 30% per year over the course of the 1970s.

Many silver buyers and silver owners today are hoping that silver repeats that kind of performance in the coming years. With inflation remaining problematic and the threat of recession growing, silver’s price could grow significantly if more people begin to flock to it as a safe haven asset.

Tax Advantages

A silver IRA offers all the same tax advantages as any other IRA. If your silver IRA is a Traditional IRA, you acquire silver with pre-tax dollars and only pay taxes when you take a distribution.

If your silver IRA is a Roth IRA, you acquire silver with post-tax dollars and your qualified distributions are tax-free. Both types of silver IRAs can benefit from rollovers, which allow you to fund your silver IRA with existing retirement assets.

Silver IRA Rules

While a silver IRA offers the same benefits as any other IRA, it is also subject to the same rules as any other IRA. That means that any distributions you take before age 59½ may be subject to a 10% penalty, and if your silver IRA is a Traditional IRA you will have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) after age 73.

Annual contributions to IRA accounts are limited to $7,000 per year ($8,000 if you’re older than age 50) across all your IRAs. But rollover amounts remain unlimited and in most cases are tax-free.

Silver IRAs, like any other IRA, are not allowed to acquire collectibles. Most metals and coins are considered collectibles, and thus are not IRA-eligible.

There are exceptions for certain IRA-eligible silver coins and silver bullion, specifically Silver American Eagle coins and any silver coin or bar with a minimum fineness of .999 (99.9% pure silver. This means that classic silver coins such as the Morgan Silver Dollar, Maria Theresa Thaler, and US junk silver are not IRA-eligible.

You can still buy a number of IRA-approved silver coins such as the Silver American Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, or any of the other IRA-eligible silver coins Goldco offers. Goldco works with mints around the world to bring you IRA-eligible silver coins directly from the source.

Silver coins and silver bars owned by your silver IRA must be administered by an IRS-approved custodian, so silver you already own isn’t eligible to be placed into a silver IRA. Nor can you keep the silver you purchase for your silver IRA at home, as it must be stored with a bullion depository.

You may have heard of something called a home storage IRA, which purports to allow you to keep precious metals IRA assets at home. That is a violation of federal tax laws, and people who have tried to store IRA assets at home have paid the price for it.

If you want to touch the silver in your silver IRA, some depositories allow you to visit and see your silver. Or, if you decide to take a distribution of your silver IRA assets, you can take that distribution in silver rather than cash if you choose.

Starting a silver IRA doesn’t have to be difficult. While the rollover process to fund your silver IRA may take a few more steps than opening up a Traditional IRA with a brokerage, the result is a retirement savings vehicle that lets you buy what you want, when you want it.

With a silver IRA you are fully in control of your assets, what you want to buy, and when you decide to sell. If you want the peace of mind that comes from owning tangible physical silver, then maybe you should start thinking about learning more about silver IRAs.

How to Start a Silver IRA

Starting a silver IRA can be done in just a few simple steps. First you’ll sign a customer agreement with Goldco to agree to our terms and conditions of doing business.

Then you’ll select the funding source for your silver IRA. In most cases this will be a rollover of funds from a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar retirement account.

If you’ve decided on a rollover, you then contact your plan administrator to start the rollover process. With the paperwork and signatures you’ll need, expect it to take 1-2 weeks for funds to move from your existing retirement account into your silver IRA.

Once funds have reached your silver IRA, you can then choose which silver coins or silver bars you want to buy. Goldco’s representatives can tell you all about the various types of silver coins and bars we offer.

After you have purchased your silver coins or silver bars, they will then be shipped to the bullion depository of your choice. Your IRA custodian will provide you with periodic updates on your silver holdings. Here’s how to read your silver IRA account statement.

Whenever you make the decision to take a distribution, you can then choose whether to take it in cash or to take your distribution in silver. And of course you’ll be responsible for paying any taxes that are due.

But the process of starting a silver IRA isn’t complicated. And Goldco’s experts have helped thousands of people just like you navigate that process and buy silver to add to their IRAs.

If you’re worried about the future, worried about your retirement savings, and are looking to help protect your financial well-being, maybe it’s time to start thinking about how silver can play a role in your retirement planning.

Contact the experts at Goldco to find out more about how you can start a silver IRA to help protect your dreams of a long and enjoyable retirement.

This article was originally published in July 2019 and was updated in May 2025.

The post What Is a Silver IRA? appeared first on Goldco.

But that’s not the only reason people buy gold.

There are many people who buy gold because they understand the intrinsic weakness of the fractional reserve banking system and the possibility of the collapse of fiat currency. Monetary history is replete with fiat currencies that have come and gone, from precious metals-backed currencies that were debased over time to paper currencies that have long since disappeared.

For people who buy gold for these reasons, they understand that the monetary struggle of our day is gold versus the dollar. They believe that it’s only a matter of time before the dollar is swept aside, replaced by something else, which could very well end up being gold.

Gold has served as a monetary metal for millennia, and recent moves in other parts of the world have some experts warning that a gold-backed currency may eventually replace the dollar. When it comes to gold versus the dollar, which do you think will prevail?

Key Takeaways

• Once defined as a unit of gold, the dollar and gold have since moved in opposite directions since President Nixon severed the gold window in 1971.
• Supply and demand factors help drive the gold price, which has set record highs this year.
• Many people trust gold as a safe haven asset and as a long-term stable source of value vs. the US dollar.

The History of the Gold Price

Gold and the dollar haven’t always been rivals. In fact, for portions of American history the two were synonymous, as the dollar was defined as a weight of gold.

That all changed in the 20th century, and now gold and the dollar have taken two vastly different paths. In order to really understand why, we need to look at gold and the gold price throughout American history.

Gold in the US Pre-1900

The Coinage Act of 1792 established the US Mint and the US system of currency that exists today. In particular it defined the dollar as 371 4/16 (371.25) grains of pure silver.

The gold eagle $10 coin, by contrast, was required to have 247 4/8 (247.5) grains of pure gold. That meant that the dollar was, in gold terms, equivalent to 24.75 grains of pure gold.

Remember that there are 480 grains per troy ounce of gold, so this valued gold at roughly $19.39 per ounce, and established the gold to silver ratio at 15:1, meaning that it would take 15 ounces of silver to equal the value of 1 ounce of gold.

This introduced the problem of bimetallism, which was a recurring problem in those countries that tried to circulate both gold and silver coinage side by side. This resulted in numerous changes to the silver and gold content of US coins throughout the 19th century, which is why, for instance, two silver half dollars ended up having less silver in them than a silver dollar.

While many European countries began to move from silver or bimetallic standards to the gold standard in the 1870s, the US move to the gold standard came comparatively late, in 1900.

Gold From 1900 to 1945

The Gold Standard Act of 1900 formalized de jure what had been a de facto standard since the Coinage Act of 1873, and officially placed the United States on the gold standard. It defined the dollar as 25 8/10 grains of gold nine-tenths fine, or in other words 23.22 grains of pure gold. Thus an ounce of gold was equivalent to $20.67.

This system remained in place until President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102 on April 5, 1933, which forbade private ownership of gold with certain limited exceptions. Congress rubber-stamped that seizure with the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, which also allowed the President to change the value of the dollar.

Within a day of the Gold Reserve Act’s passage, FDR issued Presidential Proclamation 2072, which defined the dollar as 15 5/21 grains of gold, nine-tenths fine, or 13.71 grains of pure gold. This set the value of an ounce of gold as $35.

Note that this isn’t an increase in the gold price, it’s rather a devaluation of the dollar, from 23.22 grains of gold to 13.71 grains. This was to set the stage for the future, as sustained increases in the price of gold normally correspond with sustained decreases in the purchasing power of the dollar.

Gold From 1945 to 1971

At the conclusion of World War II, the Western world established a new international monetary system to govern international trade through the Bretton Woods system. The British pound was no longer the world’s dominant currency, instead it was replaced by the US dollar.

While the dollar was not fully backed by gold, nor could individuals acquire gold, foreign nations were still allowed to redeem their dollars for gold at the Treasury’s “gold window”. Since this was judged to be something that wouldn’t likely happen, the US government took advantage of its status as the world’s reserve currency to create more and more dollars in the 1950s.

By the early 1960s, numerous problems began to creep in. For one thing, European nations began to redeem their dollars for gold.

International gold markets also realized what was going on, and the London gold price on numerous occasions broke above the official $35 per ounce valuation. The London Gold Pool was created in 1961 to try to defend the $35 per ounce valuation, but eventually collapsed in 1968 due to the impossibility of doing so.

Gold redemptions continued apace, leading to fears that US gold reserves might eventually be exhausted. So President Nixon decided to take action.

Gold From 1971 to Today

On August 15, 1971, President Nixon officially closed the gold window, permanently severing any official relationship between the dollar and gold. From that day forward, the gold price was able to move freely without threat of government intervention.

Despite that, the US government still devalued the dollar further, officially valuing gold at $38 an ounce in December 1971 and $42.22 an ounce in February 1973. But by that point the horse was already out of the barn.

The gold price was already at nearly $70 an ounce by that point, and it reached $100 an ounce for the first time in May 1973. It never looked back.

Even better for Americans, President Ford issued Executive Order 11825 on December 31, 1974, repealing the Executive Orders that had banned Americans from owning gold. From that point forward, Americans were once again free to buy and sell gold just like they had been before 1933.

The decades since have underscored just how destructive US monetary and fiscal policies have been, as the dollar has lost significant amounts of purchasing power. The dollar in 1971 was officially valued at 1/35 ounce of gold, whereas today that same dollar purchases less than 1/3300 ounce of gold.

That’s a 99% loss of purchasing power in a little over 50 years.

The flip side of that, however, is that the value of gold is far higher today, over 9,000% higher in fact. That highlights the fact that the more value the dollar loses, the more value gold gains.

What Drives the Gold Price

In addition to the normally inverse relationship between gold and the dollar, there are a few other things that drive the gold price too. Increased demand for gold will generally drive the gold price higher, while increased supply of gold will generally drive the gold price lower.

Major sources of gold demand include coin and bar demand, whether individual, institutional, or exchange-traded funds (ETF), the jewelry industry, and even the technology sector. Gold demand has increased significantly in recent years, which has helped boost the gold price.

Central banks have also been net buyers of gold in recent years, which has contributed to overall gold demand.

The primary sources of gold supply are mining and recycling. Gold mining takes significant time, resources, and capital, and so mining output generally remains relatively steady.

Gold recycling can take place through removing gold from old recycled electronics, or buying gold jewelry and coins from individuals and melting them down. When gold prices increase, it becomes more profitable to recycle gold, so gold supply could increase through recycling even if mining production doesn’t increase significantly.

Gold and Other Currencies

Just because gold prices are quoted in dollars doesn’t mean that currency fluctuations can’t impact the gold price. Local gold markets often sell gold in their local currencies, so changes in those local currencies can impact gold prices and demand for gold.

Right now the US dollar is worth 85.5 Indian rupees. At the current gold price of around $3,344, that would mean that an ounce of gold is about 286,000 rupees, or if you’re familiar with Indian numbering terminology, 2.86 lakh rupees.

If the rupee were to strengthen against the dollar, say to 70 rupees to the dollar, and the price of gold were still be $3,344, gold’s rupee value would fall to about 234,000 rupees (2.34 lakh).

That could spur gold demand in India, which is one of the world’s largest gold markets. If demand is stimulated enough, that increased demand could in turn drive up the dollar price of gold on international markets.

So even though the relationship between the US dollar and gold is an important one, movements in other currencies can also impact the gold price.

Gold and the Dollar Right Now

While the dollar doesn’t seem about to collapse anytime soon, many are wondering just how long ballooning government debt and problematic inflation will last. The dollar’s devaluation over the past several decades has resulted in higher prices and reduced standards of living, and has led to questions about sustainability.

Continued rumors of gold-backed currencies for international trade, as well as continued gold buying by China and Russia , have led to speculation that the dollar may eventually be replaced as the world’s reserve currency by a new gold-backed currency. While that may not happen immediately, there’s still a sense of unease about the dollar’s future.

As long as the federal government continues running up debt, and the Federal Reserve keeps inflating the money supply, the value of each dollar will continue to decrease. While this would negatively impact American consumers, it could be good for gold.

The long term trend for the gold price seems to be one of continued gains, with the 21st century so far being a great time for the gold price. No wonder so many Americans today are trying to buy gold.

With numerous gold buying options to choose from, whether it’s a direct cash purchase of gold or buying gold through a gold IRA, there’s something for everyone. Goldco has helped thousands of customers, with budgets from small to large, benefit from owning gold.

If you’re looking to help protect your hard-earned assets against further devaluation of the dollar, call Goldco today to learn more about how gold can help safeguard your savings.

This article was originally published in September 2023 and was updated in June 2025.

The post Gold vs. The Dollar appeared first on Goldco.

For more than a decade, Goldco has earned the trust of thousands across the country, becoming a go-to resource for those looking to help safeguard their wealth through physical precious metals. The company has received praise across major review platforms, including Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot, Consumer Affairs, and Google, among others.

Reaching over 7,300 FIVE-STAR reviews follows a series of major recognitions for Goldco, including being honored by Money.com for Best Customer Service among their reviews of 2025 Best Gold IRA Companies, being named #18 on Inc. Magazine’s list of the Pacific Region’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies and earning the 2025 Bronze Stevie® Award for Fastest Growing Company in the American Business Awards®.

“We are incredibly proud to be the first precious metals company to cross the 7,300 FIVE-STAR review milestone,” said Trevor Gerszt, Founder & Owner of Goldco. “Each review is a reflection of our team’s unwavering focus to provide our customers with personalized, transparent and friendly service.”

In its pursuit of 100% customer satisfaction, Goldco has garnered numerous reviews praising the company’s exceptional customer service and industry expertise:

“Great company to work with, very helpful and knowledgeable! I will definitely be doing more business with them in the future!”~ Nicholas D., Better Business Bureau

“My Precious Metals Specialist did an amazing job guiding me through the process and onboarding me as a new customer, getting me through the account setup. I’m very happy and satisfied with my experience.” ~ David, TrustPilot

To learn more about Goldco, visit goldco.com.

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From Europe to China to the New World, silver coins were the currency of choice. Silver defined what it was to be cold, hard cash.

That continuous demand over centuries hasn’t abated, as many people today trust silver just as much as gold to help protect their wealth when they really need to. Unlike the dollar, which has grown ever more devalued over time, silver tends to maintain its value over time, making it a central part of many people’s portfolios.

Silver is in constant demand from markets, jewelers, and industry. With rising industrial use for silver, particularly for solar energy, and with silver demand often outstripping silver supply, the long-term outlook for the silver price remains bullish.

Many analysts have become much more bullish about silver too. And silver exchange-traded funds are big buyers too, continuing to increase their holdings of silver.

By buying silver, you can help diversify your portfolio and hedge against the risk of financial turmoil and inflation. And with a silver IRA you can own silver while still enjoying all the same tax advantages as a traditional IRA.

The more you learn about silver and owning silver through a silver IRA, the more you’ll realize the reasons silver can be such a valued asset.

Key Takeaways

• While silver is no longer used in everyday commerce, it remains a trusted safe haven asset.
• Owning silver can offer advantages such as affordability, asset protection, and the potential for higher percentage gains than gold.
• Silver’s disadvantages include potential price volatility and greater bulk than gold.

What Are the Advantages of Owning Silver?

Unlike paper assets such as stocks and bonds, silver is an actual asset, a store of value. Stocks are a claim to ownership in a company, but if the company fails then your “asset” is worthless.

It’s the same with bonds – if the company issuing the bonds goes out of business then you’ll be lucky to get pennies of your principal back.

Silver, on the other hand, is one of the world’s most widely traded commodities. It’s in demand around the world, on commodities exchanges, at coin shops, and online.

Just like gold, silver can help protect retirement portfolios against inflation and help maintain value during financial downturns. With a track record dating back thousands of years, it’s no wonder that people continue to trust silver to help safeguard their wealth.

To answer whether silver is a good choice or not, we must look at some of the advantages that can come from owning precious metals like silver.

Asset Protection

Silver can help protect your assets both in the long term and the short term. While many people hold onto silver for years or decades to help safeguard their portfolios, silver’s performance during times of financial stress has made it a popular asset in recent years.

Whereas markets lost well over 50% of their value during the 2008 financial crisis and took over five years to regain their pre-crisis levels, silver held most of its value. In the years after the financial crisis, silver more than quintupled in price.

Just like gold, silver has a reputation for increasing in price as markets begin to perform poorly. When markets are expected to decline, silver can be one possible choice to act as a hedge.

Tangible Money

Another important characteristic of silver is that it is tangible. That in and of itself provides a useful benefit. As the old saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Stocks can rise and fall in value as economic conditions fluctuate, and bonds can fall in price very quickly as the financial positions of their issuers deteriorate. There’s no guarantee that the company issuing stocks or bonds will even exist in the event of a severe economic downturn.

With silver, on the other hand, you’ll always have that physical metal to turn to. When times get tough, having that physical metal in your hands can provide you much-needed peace of mind.

Affordability

Silver is often referred to as “poor man’s gold.” Its much lower price enables those who aren’t of great means to get their feet wet owning precious metals.

Whereas $50,000 will get you a roll of gold coins that will fit in the palm of your hand, that same sum will buy you enough silver to fill a backpack.

That can make it a little more difficult to store or transport, but it can make it easier to sell off in small quantities too. While you can buy smaller gold coins in weights down to 1/10 or 1/25 of an ounce, the premiums you’ll pay can sometimes be higher.

That makes silver the obvious choice for those who want the flexibility to buy or sell in smaller increments than they would have to if owning gold. And if you choose to buy silver through a silver IRA, there are numerous IRA-approved silver coins from which you can choose.

Potential for Returns

Because demand for silver is influenced to a greater degree by industry than demand for gold, silver can offer higher returns than gold. A boost in silver demand can lead to price increases that, percentagewise, are greater than those of gold.

A $30 increase in the gold price is a good gain, but a $1 increase in silver’s price is significantly higher percentagewise.

That’s not an uncommon occurrence either, as during bull markets silver’s gains can outpace those of gold. While gold may get the headlines and the attention, some people know that silver can be just as important a metal to buy as gold.

Strong Tradition

Silver has a strong tradition of helping maintain wealth stability. Because it was used for so many years as currency, many Americans today still remember the days of using silver coins. That continued familiarity works to silver’s favor.

Silver also maintains its value against paper assets such as stocks, bonds, and even the dollar. Whereas the value of the silver in a silver dollar used to be a dollar, today its silver content is worth over $25. Compare that to a paper dollar, which has lost 88% of its value since 1971.

Anonymity

Silver also has some cash-like benefits because you can purchase it nearly anonymously. While large cash purchases and large sales may trigger reporting requirements to the IRS, some people may choose to acquire their silver coin-by-coin.

What Are the Disadvantages of Owning Silver?

No analysis of silver would be complete without listing and discussing its disadvantages too. Like any asset, owning silver is best suited to people for whom it can offer the right performance.

Whether silver is a good asset choice for you depends on your current situation, your goals, and your roadmap for the future.

Price Volatility

The primary disadvantage of owning silver is its potential price volatility. While silver can present a significant upside when it’s growing in price, it can just as easily drop in price when market conditions favor a price decline.

Part of that is due to silver’s heavy use as an industrial commodity. While industrial demand is generally steady, during times of rapid and severe economic slowdowns or contractions, the silver price can drop suddenly without warning.

We witnessed that in early 2020 with the COVID-19 lockdowns: as industrial activity ground to a halt, industrial silver demand dropped, and the silver price fell as a result. While the silver price has risen over 230% since then, that price volatility always remains a possibility.

Bulk

While silver may be beautiful, it’s also bulky. $50,000 in gold coins can fit in the pocket of your pants, but $50,000 in silver would need a large cardboard box or backpack and would be quite heavy. For many people, that means it’s more practical to buy gold in order to minimize bulk.

Storage Costs

Because of silver’s greater bulk, it takes up more space in storage, too. If you’re storing your silver at a location that charges based on the amount of space you use, that could mean that your silver assets end up costing you more in storage fees than an equivalent dollar amount of gold.

Potential for Theft

As with any tangible asset, there’s always a risk of theft. But that risk can be mitigated by choosing storage options to minimize that risk.

Depending on how you buy silver and where you store it, the risk of theft can range from highly likely to quite minimal. Buying silver coins and storing them at home may be the riskiest option, exposing you not only to theft but also to fire, natural disaster, or even forgetfulness.

Safe deposit boxes could be a safer option, as could storing your silver coins with a bullion depositor, which you would have to do if you purchase silver coins or silver bars through a silver IRA.

What Is the Level of Risk of Owning Silver?

Like any other asset, owning silver carries with it some risk. There’s always the potential for your silver assets to lose value, just as with any other asset.

Overall, however, there’s a reason so many people choose to buy silver. Despite the risks, the risk profile of silver differs from that of many other conventional financial instruments.

For one thing, the fact that so many people flock to silver during times of economic turmoil marks silver as a safe haven asset. That silver tends to perform well when markets are underperforming is another advantage to owning silver.

At the end of the day, however, it’s your decision as to whether owning silver raises or lowers the risk profile of your assets.

How to Figure Out If Owning Silver Is Right for You

While silver can be a great asset to own, the timing of buying silver can make a big difference in the returns you make and, consequently, can determine whether buying silver is right for you. Knowing whether silver is the right choice for you means looking at your current situation and your future plans.

Depending on how long you plan to own silver, and how diversified (or not) your portfolio is, silver could be a good choice for you not only to make possible gains, but also to diversify and de-risk your assets. This is something you may want to discuss with your financial advisor, to see how owning silver might fit in with your retirement planning.

If you’re interested in learning more about the advantages of silver, and the potential benefits that come with starting a silver IRA, now is the time to do it. With a silver IRA you can use pre-existing retirement assets from a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, IRA, or similar retirement account to purchase silver coins or silver bars while still maintaining all the same tax advantages as any other IRA account.

Goldco has helped thousands of customers benefit from owning precious metals. With over $3 billion in precious metals placements and over 7,000 5-star reviews from our satisfied customers, we have worked hard to become one of the best gold and silver companies in the country.

Don’t wait any longer to take advantage of putting silver to work for you. Call Goldco today to learn more about how silver can be a good choice to help you achieve your goals.

This article was originally published in October 2020 and was updated in May 2025.

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