The idea of investing in gold for retirement is no longer new. People have been grabbing this opportunity for a long time, and they have been happy with their purchases. After all, the fact that you can invest in a precious metal that is bound to hold its value is definitely quite appealing, so it is no wonder that everyone is thinking about doing it. Go here to get a clearer picture on whether you should do this.
In recent years, though, people have started getting concerned about the safety of this option. And, no, I am not talking only about the safety of working with gold companies and buying gold in general, although that is an important topic as well. I am also talking about the idea that the government could actually seize your savings at one point or another.
So, apart from trying to figure out if buying gold is generally a safe option for your retirement, you also want to find out if the government an interfere with it and possibly take the gold that you’ve invested in. That is undeniably a rather serious question. And, it is not surprising that you want to get your answer before you actually make any investment moves. Well, if you continue reading, you’ll get the answers you need.
Is This A Safe Option?
Let us first check out the general safety of investing in gold for your retirement. This precious metal is known for holding its value throughout history, meaning that it is quite stable and that you shouldn’t expect to lose money when you invest in it. Quite on the contrary, gold is often used as a sort of a retirement portfolio shield, given that it can protect your portfolio during inflation and generally in times of economic instabilities.
Apart from the fact that this asset is stable, it is also pretty liquid, which further means that you will be able to turn it into money anytime you want. That is another reason why investing in it is pretty safe. If you have a conversation with anyone who has previously done this, you will absolutely realize that safety shouldn’t be your concern. After all, you’ll risk more if you decide to go for some less stable assets, or if you decide against diversifying your portfolio.
Can The Government Take Your Investments?
The above is not the only type of safety that you should be concerned about. Given the history of government interference in people’s retirement savings, it is no wonder that you are worried whether your gold will be, well, taken away from you, to put it in simple words. The government is known for imposing new restrictions and taxes of retirement portfolios. At one point, there was even talk of converting the accounts into ones that hold government bonds, which would allow the government to actually continue spending money without having to resort to borrowing.
All of that sounds a bit unfair to the people, doesn’t it? Well, whether it is fair or not, the truth is that it is a real concern. So, it is completely normal that you want to get all your facts straight and see if the government can take your gold before you start making any investments. What you need to know first is that the government is thinking of adding new RMD (required minimum distributions) for what they call “mega IRAs”.
The RMD rule generally serves to make sure that the accounts aren’t used as tax shelter and that they are, instead, used to actually save money for retirement. The new rules that I have hinted at above would require all IRAs that hold over $5 million to distribute everything that is in excess of that amount. Basically, this means that you are sort of forced not to have too much money in your accounts.
While that might not seem so bad, given that the threshold is $5 million, the truth is that we cannot predict whether the threshold will be lowered at one point or another. Plus, this threshold is most likely going to apply to all IRAs or all tax-advantaged retirement accounts together. So, when you do the calculations, it really isn’t such a huge number.
Let us now check how gold fits in with all of this. As you probably know already, a gold IRA functions just like any other IRA, except that it allows you to invest in gold and other precious metals. The coins and the bars that you’ll buy this way will be stored at a depository. After you decide to take a distribution, you can do so in cash or in, well, physical gold. Many investors prefer the idea of taking their distributions into gold, because money is bound to lose value due to inflation.
If, at one point or another, the government decides to force you to actually divest some of your IRA assets because they have assessed that you have too much money, here is what will happen. You will be able to liquidate some of your holdings and take possession of the coins, in which case you will still have ownership of them. They won’t be subject to any future RMDS, and they will continue gaining value in the future. So, in few words, if you decide to go for a gold IRA, you will have the option of saving your investments and not losing it if the government decides that you have accumulated too much money,
How Does All Of This Work?
The above helped you understand that you can use physical gold to protect your portfolio, both from inflation and from some rules that the government may impose. So, if you’re now curious about how all of this works, let me give you a quick explanation. All you need to do is set up the right IRA account and contact a great precious metals dealer. Once you do that, you’ll have an account in which you’ll be able to hold gold, and you’ll also have a company on your side that will sell you the assets, as well as advise you on the investments you may want to make.
