The single most overlooked part of a 401(k)-to-Gold-IRA rollover is the total cost of ownership. Headline pitches focus on setup and storage, but the real cost picture includes the dealer’s spread on the metal, recurring annual fees, and how all of it scales with your account size. This 2026 guide breaks down every cost layer…
When you roll a 401(k) into a Gold IRA, the IRS will not let you keep the metal at home — it must be stored at an approved depository. Three names dominate the precious-metals IRA storage business: Delaware Depository, Brink’s Global Services, and International Depository Services (IDS). They are all IRS-approved and fully insured, but…
Advantage Gold is one of the more accessible names in the precious-metals IRA space, known for a low entry point and a heavy emphasis on first-time-buyer education. If you are researching where to roll over a 401(k) into physical gold, it is a company worth understanding — particularly because its $5,000 minimum sits at the…
When pre-retirees roll over a 401(k) into a self-directed IRA, two real-asset options often come up: physical precious metals and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Both are pitched as alternatives to a pure stock-and-bond portfolio, and both can be held in a self-directed IRA. But they behave very differently, generate income differently, and respond to…
A common question from people who want gold exposure in their retirement is whether they can simply hold a gold ETF inside their existing 401(k)—and skip the whole rollover-to-a-Gold-IRA process. The answer is “sometimes, but with real limits,” and understanding why reveals an important distinction between paper gold and physical gold that affects how you…
If you’re researching where to roll over a 401(k) into physical precious metals, Lear Capital is one of the longer-established names you’ll encounter. It has been in the precious metals business since the 1990s, which is unusual in an industry full of companies founded in the last decade. But longevity alone doesn’t tell you whether…
When you roll a 401(k) into a Gold IRA, the IRS requires the physical metal to be held at an approved depository — you cannot keep it at home. But depositories offer two different ways to store your metal: segregated and commingled (also called non-segregated or allocated-pool storage). The choice affects your cost, exactly what…
If you have rolled a 401(k) into a Gold IRA, one question eventually becomes unavoidable: how do you take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from an account that holds physical metal instead of cash? Unlike a brokerage IRA where you simply sell shares, a Gold IRA holds bars and coins in a depository, which adds a…
Most people researching a 401(k) rollover into precious metals think only of gold and silver — but the IRS also permits platinum and palladium inside a self-directed IRA. These two metals carry distinct industrial demand, higher purity requirements, and a different supply profile than gold, which makes them worth understanding before you roll over. This…
Most gold IRA guides focus on getting metal into the account. Just as important — and far less discussed — is how you get value back out when you retire and need to draw on the account. That is where buyback programs come in. A buyback program is a dealer’s commitment to repurchase the metals…